Bulletproof
by Melodi Rae
Summary: A simple infiltrate and arrest goes awry when Callen is targeted and gunned down during an op. Can the team protect him until back up arrives?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is my first published story so I hope it's worthy and that you enjoy! – M Rae

It was a simple infiltrate and arrest, no fatal shots permitted unless absolutely necessary. The team began clearing the abandoned office complex in search for the suspects. Callen lead his team silently, room by room. Once each member determined their room was safe, they checked in quietly through comms, "Clear west side…" Silence. "Clear north, east corner."

The building was virtually silent as they swept each room and Agent Callen lead the group towards the final set of stairs. He ascended, Sam trailing his partner not five feet behind him. As he made his way to the emergency exit door, G froze and signaled with his hand that he heard voices on the other side of the door. "Movement detected, at least two."

Hetty, Eric, and Nell listened on. They had eyes on each of their agents from the tactical glasses they each wore, Callen's screen enlarged in the center of the console as the lead. Watching an op play out and not being able to physically assist was the hardest part of the job for Henrietta Lange. She trusted her team whole heartedly, but these situations were not something she ever got used to, nor did she think she ever would.

"Eric, heat signatures in the area?" Hetty inquired as the team seemed to hold position.

"Callen, at least four heat signatures detected in a twenty-foot radius, two within ten feet of your current position." G nodded at the provided information and Sam moved in next to the door, his hand resting silently on the handle. Callen looked back at Kensi and Deeks who were stationed three steps below him. He would infiltrate first, Sam would cover his right, Kensi would move in left, Deeks moving in last and aiming straight ahead to cover his team leader. They've practiced it a hundred times.

Eric and Nell exchanged looks and waited in anticipation for their team to move in. They watched as Callen signaled with his hands and with a quick nod of the camera, Sam tightened his grip on the handle and pulled.

"Federal Agents! Put your hands in the air!" G boomed through the corridor. Sam broke right and positioned his weapon on a tall lanky man with shocked eyes. Kensi did the same on the left while Callen kept his gun fixed on the perp straight in front of him. Deeks moved in last and scowered the area, not seeing the fourth apparent 'heat signature'.

"Three secured." Callen reported to OSP. "Deeks sweep the area for the remaining suspect."

Deeks nodded his understanding and moved through the hallway as the rest of his team secured the three, nearly secured, offenders. Sam had his perp cuffed while Kensi hit her target a top the head when he tried to resist. G had his suspect pinned face down on the ground, one knee a top his back as he cuffed him.

"Мы знали, что вы придете." The man jostling with Kensi spit out in Russian dialect, looking directly at Callen. Kensi looked up to meet her team leader's eyes, not understanding the remark made of her now secured enemy and waited to see the senior agent's reaction. G looked up at the man with a questioned expression on his face. "что я сделал?" G countered back, shaking his head in amusement. He immediately heard Hetty's warning tone through his ear wig.

"Mr. Callen-"

G unexpectedly caught movement to his right and looked over to see a foreign figure move in behind Sam.

"Sam down!" Callen aimed his weapon just over his partner's shoulder when a sudden crack of glass and impact was heard. G Callen felt a piercing hit to his chest, so forceful and sudden he was knocked backwards onto his back. Sam whipped his head around to see the cracked window and immediately announced. "G sniper! Everyone down!"

Callen rolled to his front, gasping for breath, not able to inhale as the wind was completely knocked from his body. He slid one elbow under himself preparing to move his position out of the line of fire. As he went to move, he felt another shot blast into his back as soon as he straightened his elbows, a second shot then blew through his shoulder sending a splattering of red exploding through the air. Callen dropped to the ground like a bag of bricks and cried out. Deeks made his way around the corner of the hall and took in the scene.

"G!" Sam screamed in horror as he quickly slid towards his partner. Once Sam got to him he grabbed the younger man's underarm and vest and pulled him back, causing Callen to flip up on his side and his back to collide into Sam's front. Another shot rang out and two more hits splintered the tiled floor right where G's feet lay a moment prior, luckily two misses.

"Pinned down, Callen's hit!" Kensi screamed through comms.

Hetty looked at Callen's POV screen revealing his sideways view of the world from the Ops Center. She watched as her prized agent reached out of view of the camera and came back into view revealing a bloodied palm. She could also see the bobbing of the camera, evident Callen was struggling to breathe. Another shot was suddenly seen piercing the ground inches in front of Callen sending shards of broken tile up into G's face. He reflexively turned his head away from the debris and the screen cracked and darkened as his face was hit with shrapnel. Hetty flinched in surprise and gasped.

"Get him out of here!" Deeks screamed as the sniper clearly was not letting up on their team leader. Sam wrapped a protective arm across his friend's chest and pulled him even closer to his own body against the wall. Half a dozen shots were then heard blasting into the floor next to Callen's face and above Sam's head. Tiles exploded and the dry wall burst sending dust and debris flying. Sam bent his body over his partner to shield him from any further damage he could in desperation.

Deeks slid across the wall, making sure he was not in view of the window Sam and Callen were currently in, and grasped at his superior's vest. G reached up and covered his eyes feebly with his hands, his chest was heaving, evident he still couldn't catch his breath as more shots rang out and more debris went soaring.

Hetty watched on, now looking at Deek's POV camera and saw the side lying form of her prized agent, blood dripping down his vest and arm in mini red tendrils. He had his hands limply covering his face. Callen was in a ball of sorts, Sam holding him against his chest looking straight at Deeks.

"Move him!" Sam screamed. Just as Deeks was about to slide Callen towards him, several shots rang out from down the hall and Deeks felt a hit from behind.

Kensi slid into Deeks' back, turned, and shot at the perp providing him with cover fire. "No good, fall back to the west wall." She yelled over the loud hallway. "Deeks!?" She asked gripping his bicep and forcing him to make eye contact with her. He was gasping for breath but nodded, "Good… vest… stopped it." He straightened his back out and was pulled forward by Kensi who now had a grip on Callen's vest, ready to assist Sam in relocating him, and the team, out of the line of fire.

Multiple shots then riddled the floor causing the tiles to crack and explode which sent ceramic shards airborne at the team. Half of Callen's face was still pressed into the ground, his hands weakly covering his eyes from the new debris and he gasped for breath. G felt fresh cuts litter his hands and arms as the shots did not lessen. Sam's forearm was becoming cut up as well and he huffed in frustration. "We can't stay here!" Sam declared. Another hit sent a large piece catapulting into Callen's knee causing him to grunt in pain and surprise. He couldn't breathe. "Sam- …" He pleaded.

At the sound of his best friend's plea, Sam clasped one hand into the side of Callen's vest while Kensi gripped at the front. "Pull!" Sam ordered and the two of them slid their team leader away from the window despite the continued gunfire. Callen kicked at the ground and panted at the sudden change in position. Deeks grabbed G's holster around his waist and heaved with the rest of his team, sliding a painfully breathless Callen away from the chaos.

Hetty looked on at Callen's POV screen. The lens was cracked and darkened on one side but she could still see the agent's feet being dragged down the hall as he was pulled by the rest of his team to hopeful safety. Nell had both hands clasped around her mouth as she continued listening to the grunting and rasping noises coming from her normally sarcastic and grinning friend.

Abruptly, the gunfire quieted to nothing and all that could be heard was the struggled gasps coming from their team leader on the floor. When Sam saw they were no longer in view of the window, he halted the team's progress. "Stop for a second." He turned to his injured friend.

"G, you with me?" Sam gripped his partner's shoulder and turned his cheek so he was looking up towards Sam. The older agent saw the left side of Callen's face littered with dirt and cuts that were bleeding sluggishly underneath his tactical glasses. Two shots slammed through the wall above the older agent's head just then, forcing him to duck and causing G to flinch away from the newly damaged plaster. Callen was still gulping for air but forced his eyes open to slits, "M' here... but…" He grunted. "Can't breathe… Sam." He finished while squeezing his eyes shut in pain. Sam tapped his friend lightly on the chest. "I know buddy, but we got you. Just stay awake and we'll do the rest."

"They'll get him out," Nell broke the silence up in Ops. "They'll all get out." She looked directly at Sam's POV screen, finally seeing Callen's state and not liking what she saw.

Eric chimed in, "Back up's still 15 minutes out, what the hell happened? What did that guy say to Callen?" He asked no one in particular, not expecting an answer.

Hetty was looking up at Sam's screen, one hand wrapped around her mouth, the other wrapped around her stomach. She was looking grim. "We knew you'd come." Is all she offered to her two tech agents.

Deeks and Kensi exchanged looks at Hetty's remark. Someone had planned this, they had successfully ambushed their senior agent and they had no clue it was going to happen. Deeks closed his eyes in frustration and then opened them, his focus shifting quickly back on the op.

"Sam, do we need to move?" Deeks asked, one hand still on his lead agent's holster, glancing up at the damaged wall above as he spoke. "No, as long as we stay low and watch the hall, the sniper has no eyes here, we need to patch him up, then we can work on an exit strategy."

"Sam, backups about 14 minutes out still." The team heard Eric through comms. "Copy, we're holding position for now, I need to check Callen's status…" responded Sam.

"Alright buddy, let's see what we're dealing with here." Sam shifted all his focus to his best friend lying on his side on the floor. Callen still had one hand over his face as a shield, clearly not aware of what was going on. Sam placed trained hands first along Callen's back, looking for the first slug he hoped had lodged itself into the younger man's vest. His fingers traced the side and found its mark. The bullet was there but deep inside the material, clear the sniper rifle had power behind it. Callen had likely cracked a rib due to the shear force behind the shot but the vest had saved his life, so far. Sam then moved his fingers to his partner's shoulder, a clear gunshot wound was oozing blood down G's arm.

"Gunshot wound, I don't see an exit, angle looks bad-" His exam was interrupted by Callen's hand softly batting at Sam's prodding fingers in obvious discomfort. He mumbled something that Sam couldn't make out.

"G, you know the drill, gotta check you out and patch it up, we have…" Callen mumbled again and Kensi bent down to listen to the senior agent. "Vest off." He grunted.

Kensi looked up at Sam, staying low while Deeks continued to cover the hallway. "He said he wants the vest off." She stated while keeping her grip secured around Callen's forearm, not wanting to break the contact quite yet.

"G, we can't," Sam sighed, he wanted to do whatever his friend requested considering the pain he was in, but he couldn't risk making his friend more exposed, even if it meant he would be more uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, the enemy is not neutralized yet, I–"

"No, hurts, need it off- " Callen interrupted. He was beginning to panic, his speech was slurring and he gripped at Sam's arm and at the vest. Deeks looked over his shoulder at the restless agent hearing his pleas and then turned his attention back down the hall. He had never seen his stoic leader like this before. It was scaring him.

"Callen listen to me." Kensi placed her gloved fingers firmly against the team leader's non- bleeding cheek. "Look at me."

Hetty, Eric, and Nell watched from Kensi's POV camera and saw the senior agent's eyes slowly open and lock onto Kensi's. He was gasping but had stopped his restraints. It was unnerving to watch from Ops as it looked as if Callen's was staring directly at them. His pain and struggle was unbearable to watch. Nell turned away from the screen, she couldn't see him like this.

"You need to hold tight. I understand you can't breathe, I want to help you but someone has targeted you. You could take a fatal hit Callen and we won't let that happen to you. The vest stays on." And that was the end of it. G let his eyes shut and he nodded his understanding. He would just have to hold out.

"How long…" the lead agent started but the talking caused him to cough and grimace.

"Less than ten minutes, G." Sam answered quickly, understanding his best friend's inquiries. "I need you to turn onto your back."

If Callen had heard Sam, he made no signs of showing it. G would try and hold out but he just couldn't focus on anything but breathing and staying awake. Sam looked at his friend's face and saw his eyes were clenched shut. "Kens help me out." The senior agent stated.

Kensi and Sam rolled Callen gently onto his back who kept his eyes screwed shut, he continued to pant. Sam reached for his partner's vest and immediately found the first slug that hit him which was dug deeply in the material. He sighed in relief that was short lived when half a dozen shots suddenly penetrated the wall above them, racking the silence and startling the entire team. Deeks, Sam, and Kensi ducked low out of reflex to the gunfire, Sam instinctively moving his body above his partner's to shield his breathless form from further harm.

The gunfire then stopped but the team remained unmoved, half out of shock and half anticipating more shots to be fired. The silence was broken by Callen's mutter. "Sam… really can't… breathe gonna… I'm… sor- " His voice trailed off to incomprehensible mumbling and then to nothing. Sam moved to look at his friend's face, startled by his most recent words and not liking how quiet the team leader had just become.

"G." Sam grasped his friend's pale face in his hand, seeing that his eyes were shut and face slack, for the first time tonight. "G!" Sam yelled in fear. He ripped his glove off and placed two fingers on his carotid artery. This couldn't be happening.

Kensi glared at Sam's face, waiting to read his features and learn the fate of her team leader and friend. Hetty, Nell, and Eric held their breath.

"Pulse is weak but there, what the hell?!" Sam was scared. A cracked rib couldn't be killing his friend, and then it struck him. "Take his vest off." Sam stated.

Kensi stared at Callen as he lay on the ground, unconscious, his chest making a wheezing noise every time he exhaled. Kensi slowly turned to look at Sam, "We can't, we don't even know-"

"Eric, how long until back up arrives?" Deeks interrupted both agents. Eric peeled his eyes off Sam's POV camera view and onto another monitor. He looked at the GPS for the location of the tactical support team. "They're two blocks out Deeks, a minute or less."

Deeks nodded his understanding, "Do it."

Sam gripped at the corner of his partner's vest and ripped at the adhesive Velcro until it crackled and the material opened. Callen's body bounced limply as the vest was jolted open and Kensi hated how frail her friend looked. There was no blood on Callen's t-shirt and Kensi let out a slight breath, fearing the lead agent was bleeding out underneath the vest but seeing no evidence of such. Sam flipped the front of the vest so he could better see the inside and then exhaled in defeat. "Oh no…" Sam exclaimed, panic laced in his tone.

Deeks turned over his shoulder again, startled by the eldest's tone and statement. "Sam, what happened? What is it?"

Kensi didn't know what prompted Sam's doubtful words and inspected Callen's vest for an answer. Sam didn't respond. He gripped the collar of G's black shirt and tore a rip in it down towards the team leader's chest. Sam moved his hands frantically, separating the material away in an attempt to see the skin that lay under the thin cloth. He scrunched his face in fear once he saw what he was dreading. "Hetty-" Sam stated shakily. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do.

 **TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

_Sam moved his hands frantically, separating the material away in an attempt to see the skin that lay under the thin cloth. He scrunched his face in fear once he saw what he was dreading. "Hetty-" Sam stated shakily. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do._

"Mr. Hanna, take–" Four shots unexpectedly rang out above the agents' heads followed by half a dozen more moments after the first round. More drywall exploded into pieces of plaster which dusted the air with white particles. The sniper was getting inpatient, likely because the tactical support team had arrived on scene and their window was quickly closing on taking down G Callen, permanently.

"We need back up, now!" Sam exclaimed. He was scared and angry, but mostly terrified for his best friend lying unconscious on the floor. "I'm gonna shoot this bastard!" Sam yelled over the loud shots of rapid gunfire overhead.

Kensi growled in frustration, placing her hands over G's face to shield his aching lungs from more distress. Couldn't they catch a break?

When the room finally silenced, Kensi quickly grabbed at her flash light and shined the light down on G's chest. She gasped at what she saw.

There was a deep purple, round shaped mark positioned right below Callen's collar bone. Around it was a growing lighter blue ring that encircled the oddly shaped spot. She knew the signs, Callen was bleeding internally, and fast.

"What the hell is that?" Deeks exclaimed after hearing Kensi gasp and glancing at the growing blue discoloration on Callen's front.

"The gunshot wound on his arm…" Sam started, trying to come to reality with what his partner's chances of surviving this were. "There was no exit because the vest stopped it, from the inside." Sam slid his fingers down the inside of Callen's vest, feeling the indent the bullet had made in an attempt to exit his partner's body.

"What?" Deeks asked in confusion, not turning his head from the dark hallway.

"The bullet's there." He pointed at the odd blue mark. Kensi squinted but at second glance, it was indeed the shape of a kinked bullet. Callen had gotten shot through the back of the shoulder, the bullet had torn through his thorax from the angle, and now it was lodged inside the team leader's chest, just below the skin. The bullet proof vest had stopped the slug from exiting Callen's body all together, likely causing more damage than if it had departed.

"Oh god…" Kensi couldn't believe what she was hearing. "We need to get him out of here! His lips look blue, Sam is he even…?"

Sam reached for Callen's carotid again with his bare fingers, feeling a light, slow pulse thumping against his index finger. "Pulse still there…" He placed his palm over G's mouth, moving his ear close in order to hear his friend's rasping breaths. But he waited, and waited. And he heard nothing, and felt nothing, not even half a breath. "G damnit, no!"

Sam slid to Callen's shoulders, positioned himself prone on the floor and cradled G's head in his hands, effectively tilting his chin back to open his airway. "Hetty, pulse is there but he's not getting air, what-"

"Agent Blye, rescue breaths only, begin _now_." Hetty's voice broke through comms calmly with only the slightest detectable sense of fear.

Kensi wordlessly slid to Callen's side, keeping her head low and grasping at his nose and chin. Her lips connected with her team leader's and she immediately gave two breaths, paused, and then gave two more. She watched for Callen's chest to rise but saw no movement. She tried again, and then again, still no movement. "His airway must be blocked, there's no rise."

Sam tilted his friend's chin back farther causing Callen's lips to part more and then there, the smallest of breaths escaped between his blue lips. Sam exhaled, "Oh thank-"

Rounds broke through the hallway just then and Deeks began shooting at targets moving into his view, threatening his team. The sniper then resumed his fire above the agent's heads and did not let up. Kensi reached for her glock and pointed at the window shooting blindly in a desperate effort to distract the sniper and stop the slugs from pounding through the wall above them. Sam covered his friend's face and moved his head adjacent to Callen's.

"FBI! Put your weapons down!" Kensi heard a distant yell down the hall followed by return fire and foreign shouting. The sniper continued the hits and the team remained pinned but they now knew help was now literally around the corner.

"G, back up's here, you keep breathing, listen to my voice and just keep breathing, in then out, in then out, you will make it through this." Sam couldn't hear his partner's breaths due to the loudness in the hallway but hoped his friend could hear him. He continued his supportive mantra, trusting the junior agents to cover him as he tended to G.

Deeks saw a suspect run from around the corner and made two quick shots off, effectively dropping the man to the ground. "Clear." He heard an unknown voice call out from around the corner. Two men moved in quietly, dressed in all black and wearing tactile masks. "Agent Williams and Agent Ness here, identify yourselves."

"Agents Deeks, Blye, Hanna, and Callen. Stand down." Deeks replied without lowering his weapon.

The two SWAT agents kept their weapons active but redirected their aim at each room they passed on their path towards the shaken team after hearing Deeks' reply. "Agent Hanna, where's your man down?"

Sam looked up from his prone position and responded, "Here, with me. Extraction is no good though, sniper is still active, stop your pursuit-" As if on cue, a dozen gunshots blew through the wall above the agents' heads causing all of them to duck reflexively, including the SWAT agents.

"Active shooter, someone get eyes on this guy, scan the adjacent buildings." Kensi heard Agent Williams report over the gunfire that echoed through the corridor. "Four agents pinned, one injured, EMS stand by until the scene is secured." Agent Williams finished over his comm set.

The gunfire suddenly seised and Sam knew he had no time left. "Williams, the only option here is killing that damn sniper or getting this door open behind us." Sam nodded his head backward signaling the door he was referring to. "I don't care what you do but my partner is as good as dead if you don't move right now. Please…" More gunshots blew through the dry wall causing Sam to duck again and cover his best friend's face with his own. He was so close to breaking and losing control but he held on, now was not the time.

"Foley and Miller, round back and figure out the door on the west staircase, I'll meet you there, everyone else finish clearing the building and locate that damn sniper." Agent Williams ordered.

"Mr. Hanna, check on Mr. Callen's status." Sam didn't realize his eyes were screwed shut, a protective reaction from the flying plaster falling from above. He abruptly opened his eyes after hearing Hetty's words. He moved his head away from his partner's without letting go of his head and looked at his face. It was scrunched shut and pained but he was conscious. His lips remained blue but he was wheezing weakly now, it was music to Sam's ears. "G that's it man, keep it up." Sam tilted his friend's head back more to open his throat, and the wheezing lessened but persisted.

"His airway must be closing, he can't even breathe like this." Kensi pointed out, openly frustrated and looking on as Sam tilted and cradled Callen's head in his hands. The senior agent slid his foot across the ground and slowly bent his knee, eventually planting his boot on the littered floor. He was in obvious discomfort. Callen shut his eyes and continued wheezing painfully.

"How's your agent?" Agent Ness broke the silence in the room.

There was no immediate answer and Kensi looked over towards Ness's position. "Not good, did you locate the sniper yet?" She replied, noticing Sam was talking quietly into G's ear.

"Negative, still scanning the adjacent buildings."

Callen continued to wheeze and reached his hand up towards his chest, fumbling and gripping at the material. "G don't, leave it." Sam urged. Kensi gripped the senior agent's fumbling hand and held it in her own. "It's okay, we'll get you through this, you're gonna be okay." Kensi encouraged.

Shots rang out above the agent's heads once more. "Down!" Deeks yelled as the bullets slammed into the wall even closer to their heads causing all three of them to duck closer to the floor. The rounds didn't let up and the wall tore apart above them. Suddenly a banging behind them caused Sam to turn his gaze at the emergency door that was locked shut. "Here!" Kensi yelled and the door was shoved open.

Agent Williams and another SWAT agent burst through the opening and moved the few feet towards Sam and the down senior agent. "Let's go!" Williams declared urgently.

"Let's get you out of here buddy." Sam worded close to Callen's ear. "This is gonna hurt…" He added as he slid his hands from cradling G's face to under both his arms. Callen moaned and gasped at the repositioning. Kensi quickly reached for G's vest and re-stuck the ends of Velcro back together. Deeks grabbed one of Callen's legs but was unable to stand straight due to the unforgiving gunfire. "Sam just pull him out, we don't have the angle–" Deeks screamed. He knew his team leader had no time left.

Sam tightened his grip around his partners chest, interlocking his own fingers and pulled. Callen's feet kicked weakly and he reached a hand to cup around Sam's forearm. G rested his cheek against Sam's arm and squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't breathe.

Williams quickly grabbed at Callen's legs as Sam moved through the doorway into the side stairwell. They lifted him over the entryway and started down the stairs, cradling the fading NCIS agent. The sniper then redirected its aim through the open door. Bullets ricocheted off the metal emergency exit door causing sparks and shards to fly into the stairwell. "Go, go, go!" Williams yelled.

Agent Miller moved through the doorway and reached a hand out to the remaining two agents who were taking on heavy fire. "Hand!" He yelled out to the Kensi's balled form on the ground. The junior agent reached her hand out and was dragged towards the door by Miller. The SWAT agent grasped at her vest and pulled her fully through the door, reaching another hand out into the dark hallway to make contact with Deeks' gloved hand. He pulled again and slid Deeks towards and through the door wasting no time, and finally yanked the door shut behind them.

There was an eerie silence in the stairway filled with distant clinks and sounds of gunfire, grunts, footsteps, and deep breaths.

Deeks worked his way to standing and bee lined towards Kensi. He helped stand her up on her feet and pulled the female agent into a tight hug. He dug his face into her neck and hair, taking a deep shaky breath in and then exhaled. He opened his eyes then broke the contact. Deeks looked Kensi in the eye and said, "Let's go." And the moment was gone.

Miller, Deeks, and Kensi ran down the stairs and made it to the second floor when they saw Callen and Williams carrying an injured G Callen below them. "Williams!" Miller called out.

Williams did not look back but called out, "Tell EMS we're coming and to have the ambo ready." Miller wordlessly nodded and ran to catch up with the stumbling agents, quickly passing them and towards the exit door.

"Callen hold on, help's here." Kensi said as she caught up with Sam and her team leader. "He's out Kens, he can't hear you." Sam said with dread laced in his voice. Deeks moved forward and saw the exit door in sight. He moved past Sam and plowed through the push bar on the door, opening and jarring it open for the agents to pass through with their prized package.

Miller was running back with two EMTs close on his heels wheeling a stretcher over. "Place him here." One of the male responders said to Sam. My name's Chris, this is Riley, what's his name?

"G." Sam stated blankly as he gently lowered his partner onto the stretcher.

"G as in the letter?" Riley asked as he helped Sam lower Callen to the white stretcher. Callen's head lolled limply to the side, his mouth agape. "Yes." Sam answered simply.

"Alright, let's get him loaded and headed to Providence, now. I need one of you to come with and explain his symptoms." Chris asked the crowd of agents not waiting to hear an answer as he turned back towards the ambulance.

Sam wordlessly followed and Kensi brushed his arm, "We'll be right behind you, keep him going." She said sadly and Sam nodded. He jogged off in the direction of the ambo and climbed aboard.

 **TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

_Sam wordlessly followed the EMT when Kensi brushed his arm, "We'll be right behind you, keep him going, tell him he's needed." She said sadly and Sam nodded. He jogged off in the direction of the ambo and climbed aboard._

"Alright, where's he hit?" Riley asked Sam who sat next to his partner's supine form on the stretcher.

"He took hits to his vest but one went through his shoulder, right shoulder, the bullet's still in there in his chest though." Riley tore open the vest and began to cut away Callen's black t-shirt. Once the shirt was removed, Riley nodded in affirmation at Sam's words and probed at the growing blue discoloration he now could see.

The EMT then took out his stethoscope and listened to Callen's chest. "No breath sounds on the right, likely pneumothorax, he needs a chest tube." Riley called up to Chris who was driving as fast as he could. Sam sat back, ready to help again in whatever way Riley requested, but so far, he had not been summoned.

"How's his airway?" Chris called from the driver's seat.

"Hold on…" Riley moved to the agent's head. He grabbed an ET package and ripped it open. The EMT fumbled with the contents and grabbed a tube with one hand while he snapped the laryngoscope open using the other. He tipped Callen's head back and placed one gloved thumb on the agent's lower lip, opening his mouth and sliding the scope in to get a better look. Sam winced in discomfort for his friend but didn't look away.

The EMT squinted his eyes and adjusted the scope, "Damn, no good, I can barely see the cords, not gonna be easy to intubate." Riley finally responded.

"Alright, he needs to be stabilized before surgery, do what you can, I'll relay back to Providence." Chris finished and turned his full attention back to the road, dodging cars as they pulled off to let the ambulance pass by.

Riley continued adjusting the scope and had the tube prepped to slide into Callen's airway, but he was having trouble finding the right angle.

"It's Sam, right?" Riley asked without shifting his gaze away from the federal agent he was tending to.

"Yeah." Sam quickly stood, ready to help in whatever way he could. "Once he's intubated we need to stop the bleeding from the bullet."

Sam nodded in understanding, "Where are the dressings?" He inquired, already looking around the rig for the answer. "Left side, second rack." Riley offered back.

Sam turned and looked up across the ambulance. He reached over his friend's body, snapping open the cabinet and pulled out a few plastic wrapped gauze pads. He recoiled his reach and looked back over at Callen.

Sam watched as Riley slid the tube down G's throat, slipping the scope out simultaneously. The EMT donned his stethoscope and listened to Callen's chest as he clipped a bag to the top of the ET tube and squeezed air into it.

"Got it, he's bagged." Riley called up to Chris, "Still no breath sounds on the right though, he's cyanotic."

"Copy, we're two minutes out." Chris responded back.

"Alright we gotta get him onto his side so we can dress the wound." Riley voiced to Sam. Sam nodded wordlessly and both men worked quickly to unclip G from the board. The entry wound could not be seen but the red spot on the white gurney was growing in size and was now dripping blood onto the ambulance floor. Once he was free of the restraints, Riley gripped Callen's head and controlled the tube and the bag as Sam helped roll his partner completely onto his left side.

Blood was encrusted onto the back of Callen's right shoulder which started dripping quickly down his back in his new sidelying position. "Press the pads and staunch the flow, we'll tape it down and that's all we'll have time to do before we pull up." Riley ordered and Sam popped the plastic covering and pressed the gauze, hard, into Callen's shoulder. G moaned weakly in reflex to the new painful stimulus. "Just relax buddy, we're at the hospital, you're gonna be fine." Keeping his pressure firm, Sam reached and ripped pieces of tape and hastily secured the thick gauze pad to the bleeding wound. Callen was flipped back onto his back.

"Here!" Chris yelled and the rig stopped suddenly. The doors flew open and Sam looked out to see several medical personnel dressed in scrubs awaiting with a fresh gurney outside.

"How's is he, Ry?" A man dressed in a white lab coat over his scrubs asked, reaching for the backboard to help lower his new patient to the gurney below.

"35-year-old male, multiple shots to the chest that were stopped by a bulletproof vest. Only one gunshot wound, entered through the right shoulder, no exit, bullet's lodged against the right clavicle. He's got no breath sounds on the right, intubated en route." Riley reported. Callen was handed off to the receiving medical team below and was placed on the fresh gurney. The EMT continued bagging and pushing air into Callen's one working lung while Chris and the receiving medical team helped push the gurney towards the ambulance bay entrance. Sam trailed behind, listening and trying to keep up.

"BP's 90 over 50, O2 sats were 72 on scene. His name's G Callen and he's a federal agent." Riley finished as Callen was wheeled inside through the automatic sliding doors.

The doctor checked the team leader's pulse then looked up. "Alright we got it from here, thanks guys. Kim, take over bagging, let's bring him to Treatment Area 3."

"Wait, who's the guy with him?" The doctor asked Riley as he and his partner turned to leave.

"Oh that's his partner, Sam, he can give you any details you need." Riley responded.

"Alright thanks, Taryn can you bring him to chairs?" The EMT turned back around hearing the doctor's request.

"Hold on, Matt, to my understanding Agent Callen was specifically gunned down, the scene was not secure when we left, you may want him to stick around."

Matt looked up and nodded, "Understood. Sam! Stay close then stay out of the way once we enter the room." Sam was relieved, he was always sent to the waiting room every time his friend got himself into trouble and required a hospital admission. Riley passed Sam and patted his shoulder, "Good luck, he's in good hands."

Sam nodded and smiled his thanks, quickly following the medical team around a corner and into an empty room. Callen was rolled to the middle and was quickly unhooked from the backboard.

"Agent Callen, my name's Dr. Ames, you're at Providence Medical Center and we're going to take good care of you." Matt spoke while freeing Callen from the board.

"Alright let's roll him on three and get the board out, ready?" The team reached for the sheet under the agent's body while others gripped the board. Matt was at Callen's head and secured his gloved hands around the agent's neck. Kim continued bagging. "One, two, three – " The team rolled Callen onto his side causing one of his hands to fall limply in front of him off the edge of the gurney. The already soaked through gauze pad on his shoulder started dripping blood down the agent's back and Dr. Ames probed at the wound.

"Danny, grab a dressing and cover over the already secured gauze, we'll deal with the bleeding once we re-inflate the lung." The physician ordered. New gauze pads were taped over the red stained ones while the board was slipped out from underneath Callen. He was rolled back onto the gurney and his body remained lifeless and unmoving.

"Agent Callen, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." One of the nurses began trying to rouse him. Matt flipped up each of G's eyelids and waved his penlight in each one. "Pupils reactive to light." He notated.

"Callen, can you hear me?" Dr. Ames rubbed his knuckle along G's sternum causing the man to moan and then still once the painful stimulus was removed.

"Glasgow Coma Scale 7, we need to get his pressure up, do we have a type specific?"

"He's B positive." Sam offered from the corner of the room. Dr. Ames looked up and made eye contact with the quiet and concerned agent. "You're sure?"

"I'm positive." Sam responded back.

Dr. Ames nodded in confirmation and called for one of the nurses to set up the IV. The doctor then put on his stethoscope and listened to the agent's chest. That's when he saw the trace scars of multiple other bullet wounds on Callen's chest and arms. He looked up at Callen's face and felt for the man, what had he gone through? He shook his head and turned his focus back on his task as Kim continued bagging.

"No breath sounds on the right, I need a chest tube kit, what are his O2 sats?" He finally declared.

"65, and slowly dropping." Kim responded back. "He's tachycardic, BP's 88 over 48."

"Page the OR, we need to stabilize him and get him upstairs fast, make sure they're ready to receive." One nurse ran off to the corner of the room and picked up the phone to relay the message.

"Chest tube tray is set." Ames heard from beside him. He reached for the scalpel while holding the tube with his free hand. "Betadine and drape." He requested as a nurse swept down the side of G's chest with a sponge doused in yellow liquid. A plastic covering was placed around the anticipated incision point and Matt voiced, "Agent Callen, I'm going to put a tube in your chest that's going to help you breathe better, this is going to hurt." And he cut.

Blood seeped from the fresh wound and Ames quickly prepped and inserted the tube using a pair of forceps. The agent finally reacted.

Callen suddenly gasped and his arm came to life as he reached for the painful provocation in a means to stop it. The monitors began beeping, numbers blinked red, and Sam paled.

"How is he awake?" Kim exclaimed, surprised by his sudden outburst.

"Agent Callen, it's okay you're at the hospital." Another nurse tried to calm him and gripped his wrist down towards the bed. The team leader cracked his eyelids open and looked distantly at the ceiling. He tried to roll onto his side but restraining hands kept him secured on his back. He moaned in frustration.

"He's fighting the tube, Agent Callen, just relax-" Kim tried but the lead agent started groaning and sluggishly reached up towards his side. "Watch the tube!" She exclaimed. "Agent Callen, stop, you're at the hospital, I know it hurts, you need to stop fighting us." Ames tried but the slow thrashing continued. Dr. Ames held the tube as steady as he could and tried to stay calm. He was ready to suture it in place but there was no way he could with his patient this restless. "Somebody get two mills of Haldol…" The doctor continued to hold his fingers steady, blood now dripping down his gloved hands.

Sam stepped in, "G, esti in siguranta." He yelled and Callen's groans quieted as his eyes closed to meer slits, his chest was heaving. "Esti in siguranta." Sam repeated and G stopped his restraints. "You are safe." Sam repeated the Romanian dialect in English. Callen continued to breathe heavily, exhaling audibly and forcefully but he moved his eyes towards his partner's voice and found Sam.

"O2's starting to rise, pressure's still low, still tachycardic." G slowly reached his hand up, dirt and cuts covered his entire arm but he reached regardless in the direction of his friend standing in the corner.

"Sam, over here, now." Dr. Ames summoned him to his patient in an effort to keep him clam so he could finish suturing the chest tube in place. Sam quickly reached and enclosed his hand with Callen's shaking, bloodied one. G squeezed his eyes shut and a tear slipped from beneath one closed lid. "Just breathe, it's alright buddy, you're gonna be fine."

Callen huffed in response and Kim thought her patient was choking. She quickly looked at the monitors and her eyes turned to confusion. Sam knew his partner better, and knew he had just chuckled, likely in disbelief he was going to pull through this.

"Oh come on, you've had worse." The comment caused the younger man to form a grin in the corner of his mouth and Callen shut his eyes. He would try to breathe, if not for himself, for his anchor and best friend beside him, no matter how hard the task was.

"Tube's secured, how are his vitals?" Dr. Ames quickly announced. "BPs 95 over 60, heart rate 140, O2's 76."

"Alright that's the best we're going to get, let's bring him up. Page OR." The gurney was abruptly unlocked and set into motion towards the doors. The team went straight for an elevator ahead and the doors opened. Ames slid inside with Kim but stopped Sam's forward progress. "Sorry Sam, end of the line. Head down the hall, there's a desk on the right, someone there will show you where to wait."

The elevator doors began to close and just like that, G Callen was gone. Sam stood frozen for a minute in shock. He finally tore his eyes from the elevator doors and moved down the hall. He saw the desk Matt had mentioned but quickly turned and slammed through a restroom door. He walked directly up to the mirror and looked at himself. The agent exhaled shakily and then tore his tactile glasses off his head.

Nell, Hetty, and Eric sat in shock as the final feed was cut from their view. None of them could speak. Hetty stood, walked out of the room, and headed towards her office. She grabbed her car keys and sped out the door.

 **TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** Hey guys! Sorry for the crazy delay. I had wicked writer's block and was going to just close up the story when an idea finally sprung in my head on my drive home from work today! Thanks for sticking with me – M Rae

 _Nell, Hetty, and Eric sat in shock as the final feed was cut from their view. None of them could speak. Hetty stood, walked out of the room, and headed towards her office. She grabbed her car keys and sped out the door._

The older agent splashed water onto his face and took a minute to calm his breathing. "God damnit, G." Sam cursed and he shut his eyes. He took one more exaggerated inhale, then an exhale, and forced himself to turn towards the door. Sam pushed the creaking wood open and walked towards the ER waiting room in search for his colleagues he knew would be waiting there for him.

"Sam!" Kensi was the first person he saw, Deeks was close behind her and both came running towards him. "Where were you? We thought we had the wrong hospital." Deeks quickly questioned.

"How is he?" Kensi added, they were both anxious to gain information about their team leader.

Sam exhaled audibly and rubbed one hand down his face. "He's not good." He started, closing his eyes and rubbing his head. "They sent him up to surgery to remove the bullet."

"He'll pull through, he's gone through worse." Deeks stated confidently while closing his hand around the senior agent's shoulder.

Sam nodded his agreement but he couldn't help the worry that crept into his mind. His best friend was in bad shape.

 **xxxx**

As the elevator doors opened, Dr. Ames pushed the gurney out while Kim continued bagging. "Who's on right now? Is it Clemens?" The doctor asked into the otherwise quiet hallway towards the nurse's station.

"No it's Mahoney, he's expecting you, Jill is in too, I think Clemens was called though." One of the nurses, Judy, answered as she stood from her seated position. "They're in OR 2." She added.

Dr. Ames nodded but did not answer, he looked down at Callen who had his eyes squeezed shut. "Agent Callen, I'll give you something more for the pain once we get you prepped, you're doing great, hang with me just a minute more, I know you're hurting." Ames felt for his patient. He couldn't let this man die from one bullet wound when he evidently was shot multiple times in the past, and survived. What luck this guy had in law enforcement. The doctor curved his gloved hand around G's bare shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Two of the nurses from the op desk joined in pushing the gurney towards the intended pre-op room while Ames continued talking to his patient. The two nurses exchanged confused expressions, Matt never talked to his patients, let alone reassured them.

Both male nurses then took a look at their new patient and saw the growing signs of internal bleeding spreading across G's pale chest. They also saw that the man was conscious but also tubed, how was he conscious in this state?

"What are his vitals?" Lincoln, one of the nurses asked as he continued to push the gurney. Ames glanced at the nurse and looked back down at Callen as he spoke. "Heart rate in the 140's, BP was 95 over 60, and oxygen was 73 and rising about a minute ago." He answered quickly.

Ames suddenly felt a hand hit his hip and he turned his attention back to his patient. The federal agent was slowly shaking his head side to side and placed one hand on his chest. "Agent Callen, what's wrong? Can you breathe?" The doctor asked anxiously. The agent's face had gone two shades whiter since he last looked at him and he looked like he was in agony, more so than before. "Someone get a BP cuff!" Jordan, the other op nurse, called out as they entered the pre-op room.

Callen lightly tapped at his chest again and opened his eyes to slits, making eye contact with Dr. Ames. Matt looked into the agent's eyes and saw both fear and resolution behind them.

"Is it chest pain?" The doctor inquired.

Callen nodded his head once and slowly, his eyes began to shut. "Agent Callen." Ames called out while grasping the man's shoulder, giving him a slight shake. The doctor looked at his patient's face which began to slacken until it was completely rid of any pain marks or tightness. "Agent Callen!" Matt rubbed his knuckle along the agent's sternum which this time, yielded no response. "What's his heart rate?" The ER doctor asked as he gripped Callen's wrist in search for a radial pulse.

Lincoln reached across the injured man and placed two fingers against his neck, waiting to relay his findings to the leading physician. "No pulse, we have a code!" The nurse yelled down the hall. Ames reacted immediately. He gripped one of the handles on the gurney and heaved himself up planting a knee down on one side of Callen's arm and swinging his other leg up and over the agent's torso. He straddled the pulseless man, intertwined his hands, and began giving rapid chest compressions. "Head to OR 2."

Jordan looked at the ER doctor and shook his head. "He's not prepped yet, Mahoney is almost sterile, if not already-"

"This is a federal agent coding on the table and he is bleeding out, he has no time left. We need to operate now." Ames stated tersely and Lincoln nodded. He kicked at the two brakes nearest him on the gurney quickly pushing his patient towards the operating room. Both Jordan and Lincoln grabbed surgical masks as they rounded the corner and banged through the OR doors. They covered their mouths with the masks as Ames continued providing compressions. Kim was religiously bagging but had also grabbed a mask in passing.

"Matt you idiot! You're not sterile!" Dr. Mahoney boomed as soon as he saw the tall doctor straddled over his supposed to be prepped and draped patient. Mahoney was dressed in a thick, blue gown, had a surgical mask and shield on, and three layers of sterile gloves covering each of his hands.

"He doesn't have a pulse, get the paddles ready!" Ames ignored his colleague and continued giving chest compressions.

"I thought you said he was stable…" Jill, the physician assistant of Dr. Mahoney inquired while she loaded the paddles on the crash cart beside her.

"He was, then his pressure dropped in the hallway because he's been bleeding into his chest for thirty minutes _._ " Matt stated bluntly as he climbed off the gurney without missing one compression.

"Charged, clear!" Ames unclasped his hands and raised his arms in the air, effectively clearing contact with his patient. Jill reached forward and activated the paddles causing the agent's body to jolt in response. Once Callen's body stilled, everyone resumed their tasks, Ames providing compressions and Kim providing breaths with the ambu bag. Dr. Mahoney reached his fingers over to check his patient's heart rate. "Still no pulse, charge again." Jill turned and pressed various buttons on the crash cart, effectively recharging the machine for another shock. "Charging…" She relayed.

"Is Clemens on his way in? He needs a thoracic surgeon." Ames asked Mahoney, somewhat winded, as he continued to give chest compressions.

Dr. Mahoney was hooking Callen up to a heart monitor, sticking various adhesive pads with cords attached to each to the agent's chest. "He was not." The surgeon answered simply.

"Charged, clear!" All hands were removed from Callen's body and Jill moved in. She activated the machine and G's body was racked with electricity once again. All three medical providers looked up at the screen to see if their lifesaving efforts were working.

"Sinus rhythm, tachycardic at 160 though." Ames exhaled and let his eyes shut. He was relieved.

"Okay Matt, tell me what I need to know, and where's the entry wound?" Mahoney pressed quickly. "He's a federal agent, shot on duty, the bullet entered the back of the right shoulder and is lodged here." Ames pointed to the visible bullet wound and the progressively growing, light blue ring surrounding it. "I inserted a chest tube as the right lung was nicked, I did not suture the entry wound."

Mahoney nodded in understanding. "Alright, Link and Jordy, I need him prepped in two minutes, grab Stacy and Judy."

Both nurses nodded in confirmation and turned to leave when Mahoney added, "And tell Judy to call in Clemens." Both men made off in the direction of the nurse's desk to get everybody on board.

The ER doctor's pager began beeping and reluctantly he looked down to read the short message.

"I think you're being summoned, we got it from here." Mahoney stated simply.

Matt exhaled again and walked up to Callen's lifeless body. He patted the man's shoulder and crouched down towards his ear. "Stay with us, Agent Callen." The doctor offered and then quickly exited the room.

"And Matt, get consent!" Dr. Mahoney yelled after Ames as the OR doors began to shut behind him. Ames exhaled, the federal agent's fate was officially out of his hands.

 **xxxx**

Dr. Ames entered the elevator with Kim close behind and pressed at the fading arrow on the wall. The sliding steel doors closed and both medical providers stood there silently. This was part of their job, everyday. Some days were certainly harder than others, but like the professionals they were, they either had to compartmentalize the things they just witnessed or stay detached and pretend it didn't even happen. Typically, Ames was the king at forgetting, but today his mind was stuck upstairs with Agent Callen.

Once the doors opened, Ames stepped out and headed towards the ER waiting room.

On his way down, he stopped at the nurse's station and had a brief exchange with one of the nurses at the desk. He reached his hand out and was handed a clipboard that had a single piece of paper attached to it. Matt turned and continued to walk down the hall. He saw Sam standing near the corner facing two other individuals that wore all black tactical gear. Ames assumed they were other members of the FBI.

"Sam." He called into the waiting room and he watched the tall agent turn to face him. Ames summoned him over towards the hallway and the agent closed the distance between the chairs and the ER doctor in a matter of steps. The two other agents had also stood from their seats and followed.

"How is he?" Sam asked, fearing the worst.

"He's alive." Ames confirmed quickly and continued. "Has anyone from Agent Callen's family been notified of his condition? We need their consent to treat as he is unable to." The doctor reached his hand out revealing the piece of paper on the clipboard. Sam shook his head.

"He doesn't have any family." Sam responded back.

Ames was taken aback. He tried to hide the shock he felt after hearing Sam's response and quickly countered. "Well then who's his healthcare proxy?"

"Henrietta Lange." Sam stated simply.

"And what is her relation to Agent Callen?" The doctor inquired.

Sam hesitated but came up with a brief answer. "She's the operations manager for our NCIS branch in LA."

Ames nodded. "Does he have a secondary?"

"I'm his secondary." Sam responded seriously.

Ames had never heard such a social history before. How was it that his patient's healthcare proxies were his co-workers? What had happened to his family?

"Okay well, I need Miss Lange here, now, to allow us to treat Agent Callen in whatever means necessary, his condition is serious and has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse." The doctor finally spit out.

"My name is Henrietta Lange, tell me what you need." A small but powerful voice boomed behind Sam and the agent quickly turned to see the small statured woman beelining towards him from the entranceway.

"Miss Lange, my name is Dr. Ames, please come with me so we can speak in private-"

Hetty cut him off. "Whatever you have to say you can say freely in front of my agents, what is Mr. Callen's status?"

Ames nodded in understanding. "It's serious, he has massive internal bleeding. We lost his pulse when we were prepping him for surgery. We did get his heart going again and the top thoracic surgeon in the area was called in to help, but I was called back down to fulfill my duties here before I could find out more. When I have an update I will let you all know."

The doctor looked at his crowd and their faces were grim, but nobody broke down. He'd worked on plenty of law enforcement personnel before, injured or shot on the job, but never federal agents. This team in front of him was intimidating, and he could tell his patient upstairs was as tough as nails.

"Miss Lange, if you'd sign here to allow us to treat Agent Callen in whatever means necessary, we can go through with the surgery that he desperately needs."

Hetty seemed stoic through this whole situation but when she reached for the pen the doctor held out, her hand was shaking visibly. She wordlessly signed and Ames nodded his thanks. "I'll keep you posted." The doctor concluded and he turned back down the hall, the signed consent form in hand.

 **xxxx**

A man in the waiting room followed the doctor's exit with his eyes. He tossed his hood up over his head and quickly stood, slipping one hand into his sweatshirt pocket. His other arm hung limply down by his side and a red stream of blood slowly dripped down his sleeve and off his lax index finger to the floor. He exited the hospital quickly and zipped around a corner. "Target located." He voiced in Russian.


	5. Chapter 5

_A man in the waiting room followed the doctor's exit with his eyes. He tossed his hood up over his head and quickly stood, slipping one hand into his sweatshirt pocket. His other arm hung limply down by his side and a red stream of blood slowly dripped down his sleeve and off his lax index finger to the floor. He exited the hospital quickly and zipped around a corner. Target located._

Several hours passed by and both Nell and Eric had joined the anxiously awaiting team for news about the lead agent who was still in surgery. Kensi figured no news was good news but she stayed locked near Deeks' side, comforted by his presence, none the less.

Nell and Eric were exchanging light conversation with each other while Hetty sat beside them in silence. Sam was bent forward at the waist with his elbows resting on his legs, two chairs away from anyone on his team. He was staring intensely at the ground. His mind was drifting to the scariest parts of the night and he couldn't snap himself out of it. He wasn't ready to let G go, he physically did not think he would be able to cope.

The doctor had checked in with them about a half an hour ago saying he was still in surgery. That was all the news Ames provided and claimed he knew. The concerned team had no choice but to continue sitting and waiting, and praying.

 **xxxx**

Ames walked out of the trauma room pulling the thin gown off he wore from his front. He balled the material up and shoved it in a waste basket. It was a teenage girl in anaphylaxis but they reversed the reaction without issue. The doctor walked through the halls and headed straight for the break room, he needed a coffee, and to sit for a minute.

The doctor pushed through the door and was thankful no one else was in the empty room. He went up to the counter, switched out the coffee pots, and clicked the machine on.

He proceeded to plop himself on the couch and tried to make his mind drift. He was thrilled to be going home soon where he could sleep and hopefully forget this day even happened. The room was silent besides the muffled buzz of voices and beeping coming from the other side of the closed door. Ames let himself sink into the white noise of the room and his memory of the day finally began to fade away as he shut his eyes.

"Matt." The doctor shot his eyes open and looked towards the door, his quiet moment was gone as quickly as it came.

"That agent's out of surgery, he made it through, getting extubated soon."

 _Oh thank God_. He thought, a win, finally. "Great, thanks." Was all he offered to the nurse who quickly turned and let the break room door shut behind her as she left.

Ames lifted himself up and walked towards the door, smelling the fresh brew as he passed. The doctor turned the corner and walked straight towards the waiting room.

Hetty made eye contact with the doctor first and quickly voiced, "Mr. Hanna."

Sam looked up from the floor and peered towards the hallway. Dr. Ames was walking towards them and Sam had no idea what news he was about to receive. It had only been a half hour since their last update which was concerning. Sam quickly stood, as did the other four agents.

Ames approached them and quickly spoke. "He made it through the surgery. He's in recovery to my understanding and they are going to try and remove the breathing tube, pending how he does once he wakes."

"Oh my God." Nell exclaimed in relief. She turned towards Eric and smiled.

"Thankyou." Kensi voiced as she turned to dig her face into Deeks' chest. Deeks clasped his arms around the female agent's back and said, "He's stubborn as hell, I knew he wasn't checking out on us." The comment caused Kensi to grunt in amusement.

Sam reached a hand out and clasped the Doctor's hand in his own. "Thanks Doc." Was all he offered. Hetty placed her hand on Sam's back and gave it a quick rub. She was so relieved, for herself and her team.

Ames nodded his understanding at the team's reactions and spoke again. "You can make your way up to the OR waiting room if you'd like, once he's ready for visitors, that's where the surgeons will look to find you, the room is small though."

"Thank you Mr. Ames." Hetty finally spoke. The Doctor nodded again and then turned to head back down the hall, quickly resuming his duties in the ER.

"Let's head upstairs shall we?" Hetty suggested to her team of agents. They all agreed and as a group, headed down the hall towards the guest elevator doors. Sam had remembered the directions Ames had given him when they first took Callen up for surgery. His friend was going to be okay.

 **xxxx**

 _What in the hell?_ Callen felt like he had literally been hit by a train. His throat was killing him, as was his chest and arm. He felt extremely drowsy and weak and could not figure out why. Where even was he?

The team leader tried to open his eyes to gain some information on what was going on but his muscles were not cooperating. He huffed in frustration and tried to roll to determine where his hands were. He prayed his partner was close by because he was utterly helpless right now, and he hated it. Wait, why weren't his hands working?

Callen then tried to move his mouth to form words but something was in the way. He tried to clamp his jaw shut but was unable to. That's when he started to notice the sensation of an object against the inside of his throat. Panic started to creep into his chest and he felt his breathing shorten and increase. He wanted to gag. ' _Get it out'_ was suddenly the only thought in his mind. _Get it out, get it out, get it out, help, I can't breathe-_

 _I can't breathe…_ Unexpectantly, flashes of the night penetrated his memory. The echoing of gunfire. Distant yells. The piercing noises the bullets made as they hit the tiled floor. The sharp impact of each shot to his body. Looking up at his partner's worried face. The hospital. The doctor. Not being able to breathe.

Callen gasped but no air was inhaled. Panic began to overcome his body. He was going to suffocate. The agent heard the sound of high pitch beeping and the patter of quickly approaching footsteps. _Calm down, just hold on._ He tried to inhale again but still, no air filled his lungs. Violent flashes of the night filled his brain again with images and memories as Callen gulped for air again. There was still no expansion of his lungs and his vision began to turn black. _Sam, help…_ Was the last thought he had before he lost consciousness.

 **xxxx**

Dr. Clemens sat at the nurse's station at one of the desks in the back. He was scrolling through his caseload for the morning. His actual shift was to start in two hours. His first surgery of the day was supposed to be a triple bypass at 6AM sharp, but he was called in to help with a trauma victim in the middle of the night.

It was a gunshot wound to the chest with massive internal bleeding. Usually the prognosis is bleak for an injury such as the one he miraculously fixed, but it was a struggle to say the least. His patient was not out of the woods yet either. He had another half hour or so before the federal agent would regain consciousness. He would try to extubate him once he was more alert and could assist.

Clemens continued to scroll through his first case when he heard the head monitor start beeping that was positioned in front of the nurse's station.

"Spo2 dropping and abnormal heart rhythm." The head nurse relayed after reading the blinking red numbers on the monitor. Two nurses took off down the hall to assist.

"Who is it?" Another nurse questioned.

Clemens continued to listen on in case he was needed. There was plenty of staff on right now though, so he didn't care unless it was 302.

"302."

 _Crap._ The surgeon shot up from his seat and started down the hall towards his one and only patient's room.

The sound of the beeping grew louder as the doctor neared the end of the hall which caused him to quicken his cadence. Ahead, he saw Dr. Mahoney storm out of a room across the hall and into Callen's room about ten feet in front of him. Clemens made it to the doorway and rounded the corner to see the agent's body jerking off the bed. His patient was seizing.

"Drop the head of the bed down." Mahoney called out to one of the nurses as he positioned himself at Callen's head.

Clemens closed the distance between the door and his patient in one step and placed his hand on G's carotid. "I need 2 ccs of lorazepam, stat." Clemens called out to the room now filled with medical providers.

One nurse took off through the door to retrieve the seizure reversing medicine.

Once the head of the bed was lowered, Mahoney moved in and cradled Callen's neck loosely so as not to restrict his involuntary jerking but enough to protect the tube and his airway from becoming displaced.

"What the hell happened?" Mahoney asked the crowd of medical providers, but no one spoke up as they had no idea.

"He was sleeping when I started rounds not five minutes ago." Jordan offered knowing it wasn't the answer the surgeon was looking for.

"Dr. Clemens, 2 ccs of lorazepam here." The petite nurse stated as she rounded the corner holding a syringe in her gloved hand.

Clemens quickly donned two rubber gloves and grasped the syringe expertly between his fingers. He turned to Callen and after palpating the ribs in search for his entry point, stuck the needle into the agent's chest without hesitation.

"Pushing…" He relayed as he emptied the lifesaving medicine into Callen's bloodstream.

After a few seconds, G's head slowly stopped jerking and his body went deathly still and quiet. Mahoney gripped Callen's neck tighter now that the seizure had passed and tilted his head back some to examine the tube's position.

Clemens looked down at Callen's face when he noticed a small red stain on the clean white sheets below the agent's body. "Turn him, I think he popped his stitches." The surgeon stated curtly and hands were immediately gripped onto Callen's arms and back, ready to assist.

"1, 2, 3-"

The senior agent was smoothly flipped up onto his left side, his head supported by Mahoney's hands. Clemens probed at Callen's back and removed the soaked through dressings, revealing a thoroughly bleeding wound. "Damn it, this needs to be closed–"

"Jack, we need to extubate him, the tube's been dislodged." Mahoney interrupted hastily to his colleague who was currently assessing his patient's reopened gunshot wound.

Clemens huffed in frustration, this was not good. "Alright, airway first, let me try and staunch the blood flow with something though." The surgeon was quickly handed a fresh handful of gauze which he folded into a tight ball. He placed the gauze against the bleeding wound and ordered everyone to flip Callen to his back again so he could be properly extubated. As the agent was turned supine, Clemens compressed his fingers harder against the gauze pad into Callen's back and clamped his thumb over the front of the agent's clavicle, providing adequate pressure to start clotting the wound.

Callen's eyes fluttered and he let out a moan, followed by a weak cough. "I think he's regaining consciousness…" Jordan noted as he handed Mahoney a scope to help him figure out the best way to remove the tube. The federal agent tried to move his head to the side but it was held in place by strong hands. "He's coming to." Mahoney stated as he tightened his grip around the patient's neck and head.

Callen's eyes finally cracked open and he began to gag. Clemens gripped one of the agent's suddenly wandering hands and pinned it gently to the bed. Other nurses moved in to help secure G's body while the two renowned surgeons tried to work.

The agent suddenly reached his free hand over his body and grasped at the edge of the bed, attempting to roll away from the bright light above him and out of the hands of his captors. He was in so much pain and he still couldn't inhale. _Not again._

Clemens moved to the agent's head and pushed the injured man's shoulders to the bed, effectively pinning him supine.

"I can't believe he's awake after all that." Mahoney stated, truly bewildered by the resilience this agent continued to show. Mahoney looked down at G's now rocking head and the position of the tube. He shook his head in frustration.

"I'll damage his airway if I try to extubate him like this, we need to sedate him –"

"No." Clemens disputed swiftly. "He just got out of prolonged sedation, we shouldn't induce him again if it can be avoided, the risk of cardiac arrest is too high."

The surgeon thought for a moment keeping his hands firmly planted on Callen's combative shoulders and to the open wound. An idea sprung in his head and he looked up at Jordan. "Matt said he came in with a guy, another agent, go find him now."

Jordan nodded and quickly exited the room without a word.

 **TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

_The surgeon thought for a moment while keeping his hands firmly planted on Callen's combative shoulders, and against the open wound. An idea sprung in his head and he looked up at Jordan. "Matt said he came in with a guy, another agent, go find him now."_

 _Jordan nodded and quickly exited the room without a word._

The operating room nurse ran down the stairs towards the emergency department. He skipped every other step and pushed through the emergency exit door once he hit the bottom floor. He ran straight to the nurse's station.

"Where's the family of Agent Callen's?" He asked frantically.

"Whose?" The nurse asked without looking up from her computer.

"The federal agent that was shot and brought in a couple hours ago, I need to find them, now."

The nurse looked up at Jordan and then back at her computer, scrolling and clicking for a moment. "They were in the waiting room." She started. "When he was taken up to surgery though, I'm pretty sure they left." Jordan hoped she was wrong and moved quickly towards the ER waiting room to see if they were there.

"Family of Callen?" He asked and a few scattered heads looked up towards him, but no one took the bait. Jordan searched the crowd quickly but everyone's heads turned away after a moment except for one man in a hooded, gray sweatshirt. The shady man did not speak but he kept his eyes trained on Jordan's face. The op nurse shook off the glare and did one more quick scan of the room before taking off down the hall again.

"Where's Ames?" He asked a passing PA in the hall. "Break room I think." The man replied as he walked away.

Jordan nodded and headed straight for the room off the waiting room. He blasted through the door and made eye contact with the ER physician who was pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Dr. Ames." Jordan took a breath and continued.

Ames turned and looked at the man in both interest and worry. "We need to find Agent Callen's partner, the one he came in with. Mahoney wants to sedate him but Clemens thinks the partner can help. He was seizing a minute ago and I guess he wants to try using the agent first." The nurse took another breath. "Did they leave?"

Ames was overwhelmed with the news the op nurse just spit out but he quickly caught his bearings and replied. "They better not induce him… His partner will be able to help. I sent them up to the OR waiting room."

"Okay thanks." Jordan replied and quickly turned to exit the waiting room.

"Hold on, I'm coming with you." Ames said as he placed his filled coffee mug on the counter and followed Jordan out the door towards the emergency stairwell.

"Tell me what happened." Ames said as he followed the op nurse through the emergency exit door and they both hurried up the stairs.

Jordan didn't look back but started talking. "He wasn't supposed to come out of sedation for another hour, I guess his vitals tanked and he was seizing when I entered the room. Clemens reversed the seizure but then the agent started fighting the tube and was combative, he dislodged the ET tube in the process."

The op nurse pushed through the third-floor door and turned the corner heading straight towards the surgical waiting room.

"Mahoney wants to induce, Clemens does not. I was sent off to find the partner and then I eventually found you." Jordan finished.

Ames couldn't believe it, or maybe he just didn't want to. He thought his patient was actually through the hardest of this battle. He pretty much made Callen's boss sign the consent to perform whatever they deemed medically necessary. He knew it wasn't, but he felt like all of this would be his fault if his patient was put into a coma. Mahoney had such a trigger finger, Ames and the surgeon never got along because of it.

Both medical providers made it to the waiting room and walked through the door, guided by Jordan first.

"Family of Callen?" He repeated the question he had asked downstairs with urgency and saw six heads snap to face his direction by the door.

"Yes, is everything alright?" Hetty spoke up, not liking the nervousness the operating nurse seemed to be in. Something was definitely wrong. "Yes, but…"

Ames pushed past Jordan and made eye contact with Sam. "Dr. Ames?" Sam asked in confusion at seeing the ER doctor up on the surgical floor.

"Sam, you need to come with me now, we need your help again."

Sam stood without a second thought and nodded. He quickly followed Jordan and Ames around the corner and into the surgical floor hallway. The trio headed straight towards room 302.

 **xxxx**

"Alright, Jack, we can't wait any longer. We need to sedate him now." Mahoney stated in frustration.

Clemens exhaled in defeat and confirmed his colleague's wishes. "You're right, do it."

Callen continued to choke on the tube as he lay restless with his eyes squeezed shut. He wished he would just pass out so he could finally breathe again. Anything but the feeling of suffocation would be preferred right now.

One of the nurses moved in next to Callen's shoulder holding a syringe and gripped the agent's IV line, preparing to inject the solution into his bloodstream.

"Don't you dare push that."

The ER doctor, Jordan, and Sam suddenly filed into the room and Mahoney looked up.

"Ames, are you kidding me? Go back downstairs." The surgeon was irritated and looked down at Callen's face again. His hands were still secured around the agent's neck working hard to keep the tube from dislodging further. "Jenny push three mills of-"

"You know his chances tank if he's sedated again in this state, let Sam try." Ames interrupted. Mahoney went to protest again when Clemens looked up and made eye contact with Sam.

"Are you Sam?" He asked without moving his clamped hand secured against Callen's open gunshot wound. Sam nodded, shocked by all the chaos and yelling going on around him. He couldn't even see G with all the medical personnel surrounding him. What had happened?

"Please come try and calm him down, we need to take the tube out before he can damage his airway further, I don't want to sedate him again." Clemens explained quickly. Sam nodded and looked at Ames who gave him a reassuring okay to move close to Callen. "Go." The ER doctor urged.

Sam stepped forward. "G…" He looked at his partner's face which was pale and pained. "It's Sam, I'm right here, everything's fine except you need to calm down so the doctors can help you breathe." Callen continued to pant and his eyes stayed clasped shut. The agent's hand began to wander on the bed and Sam noticed the change in movement. He quickly grasped his friend's hand in his own and spoke again.

"G, listen to my voice, just take it down a notch, you're at like a ten and you need to chill to at least a five." Callen recognized that voice. Of course, his partner was making fun of him when he was down for the count. In a warped way, he was more than thankful for it, this night had been all too scary and serious for him to handle without his normal sarcasm. "I'm right here, just do it." Sam pushed.

Clemens looked back at Ames giving him a look of question, knowing they had no time left. The surgeon hoped his patient's partner could help.

Suddenly, Mahoney felt Callen's neck relax some and he was pleased with the change in tension. "Good, Agent Callen, just try to relax your neck." Mahoney coached as he tried to regrip his hold on his patient's throat. Callen obliged and Mahoney was able to tilt his head back. G grunted in disapproval at his new position and began panting again. "Stay relaxed G, they almost have it." Sam encouraged.

"Alright, Agent Callen, on the count of three I need you to cough as hard as you can and breathe out as I remove the tube…" The surgeon waited but saw no sign his patient was even listening to him. "Squeeze Sam's hand if you understand." He added.

Sam felt Callen grip his hand, tightly, evidence that his partner was coherent enough to be following commands. "He's got it." Sam confirmed to the surgeon.

"Ames, since you're here, grab an 02 mask and set it to 100 liters for when he's extubated." Mahoney instructed. The ER doctor soundlessly obliged and worked to set the mask up.

"Once he's extubated I need to stop this bleeding, tip him up on the left side as soon as the tube's out." Clemens stated to the room.

"You ready Agent Callen? On three breathe out, _hard_." Mahoney reviewed again. Callen squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted so desperately to breathe but according to Sam, he was about to be able to. _Please be right._

Mahoney gripped the top of the tube with his dominant, right hand, and kept his other hand circled around the bottom of the tube near G's mouth. Sam braced himself, remembering how uncomfortable it was to watch his partner get intubated on the ambulance ride. He was not looking forward to watching the tube get removed, especially now that G was conscious.

Mahoney was not waiting any longer. "One, two, three-"

The surgeon waited for Callen to start coughing and once he felt his patient give some assistance on extubating the tube, he pulled the top up towards the ceiling. Callen made a grunting noise as the tube grew longer and longer until the bottom made its exit from Callen's throat.

"Tube's out." Mahoney confirmed and G began to hack painfully causing Sam to tighten his hold on his partner's hand.

Ames moved in and placed the oxygen mask over Callen's mouth and spoke softly to the agent. "Nice work agent, now try to breathe. I promise it will be easier than before, just slow it down, breathe slow." Callen listened to the ER doctor and once the coughing lessened, it was true, he could finally inhale. _Thank God._

"Alright we need to turn him. "Clemens ordered. "Sam, step back."

All hands were on Callen again. Sam stepped back hesitantly while two nurses and Ames took his place. Mahoney had moved to the side of the room and was discarding the now extubated tube in the biohazard basket. Jordan was now stabilizing Callen's head and neck with his hands in Mahoney's place.

G was flipped on his left side revealing a crimson red gauze pad on the back of his right shoulder. It had clearly soaked through to Clemens' glove which was dripping red. "I need lidocaine and a suture kit." The surgeon declared.

The lead agent gripped at the bed with his right hand while his left arm hung straight out towards the edge of the fabric. Callen's wrist dangled loosely over the edge and he kept his eyes shut, still trying to figure out how to breathe again.

Distant beeping was heard from down the hall and as if on cue, the speaker system on the floor sounded. "Code Blue, room 342."

 _Crap._ Mahoney thought. Cardiac arrest. He and Clemens were the only doctors on right now and Clemens was currently busy which meant he would have to go. Mahoney was fuming. "Ames, go help, you're not even supposed to be here." He ordered.

Matt looked from Callen's scrunched face, to Sam, to Mahoney and knew he wasn't going anywhere.

"This isn't even my floor, they're your patients, Danny." Ames refuted and Mahoney huffed in defeat. The surgeon stormed out of the room to attend to the code blue down the hall.

Callen continued to pant but was thankful air was both entering and exiting his lungs under his own power now. Once he felt like he wasn't going to pass out anymore from oxygen deprivation, he cracked his eyes open in an attempt to figure out what was going on. There was a mask over his nose and mouth that was held in place by a hand, he definitely did not like that for starters. The only thing he could see were bodies about 4 inches from his face that seemed to be holding him up on his side. He felt someone prodding at his back and could sense his shoulder was throbbing. Then he remembered he had heard Sam…

"Sam-" He spoke but all that came out was a muffled moan and a cough. _Stupid mask._

Callen reached his hand up, pulled the mask off to the side of his face and spoke again, with a little more force this time. "Sam." He repeated in a raspy tone.

Ames looked down when he felt the mask move and saw that Callen's eyes were opened. "Sam." He heard the agent call again. This was the first time he heard his patient speak since meeting him hours ago in the ER.

"Agent Callen, can you hear me?" Ames asked, trying to both orient his patient and assess his consciousness at the same time.

Callen shut his eyes briefly and after a moment, reopened them. "Ya." He answered simply.

Ames nodded his head and continued with his assessment. "Do you know where you are?"

He wasn't positive, but Callen had a good guess… "Hospital?" He answered. There was really no other place he could be. The bright lights, the smell of rubbing alcohol, the confusion, the pain. Why was he here though? _Sam would know…_

"Sam!" He called again and Sam looked up, finally hearing his partner's voice for the first time since he was shot. It was music to his ears.

"I'm right here G, you're okay, it's alright." Sam called from his position against the wall. Even if he wanted to come closer, there was no room next to Callen's bed to even position himself. He also didn't want to get kicked out of the room for being in the way, so he reluctantly stood his ground, despite every instinct in his body screaming at him to move closer.

"Do you remember what happened Agent Callen?" Ames asked again while Clemens prepped the area to suture the wound shut.

Callen thought about the answer to the question. He felt groggy, his lungs weren't working exactly right, and his back and chest were killing him. He remembered the sound of rapid gunfire but thought it was a distant memory. He figured he'd just guess "What I shot?"

"Yes." The ER doctor confirmed. "You're in good hands though, how is your breathing?"

Callen shut his eyes. He needed to talk to Sam, he needed to know what happened. Was everyone else okay?

"Sam, Kens and Deeks?" He asked too quietly. Sam couldn't hear the question fully and was frustrated with the separation he still had with his best friend. "What did you say, G?"

Callen went to speak again when he felt a pain shoot through his shoulder causing him to cry out in surprise. "Wait, stop, stop, my back." He groaned.

"Agent Callen, my name is Dr. Clemens. The bullet wound on your shoulder has been reopened and I am trying to close it up again with some stitches, we will give you something for the pain.

"Sam, what-?" Callen still couldn't believe he was shot. He also couldn't' remember what happened which scared him.

Ames looked at his patient and then up at Sam. They needed to keep the agent calm. Sam looked back at the ER doctor eagerly. He prayed the man would let him talk to his colleague.

Ames looked over at Sam and finally waved him closer, "Just keep him talking."

One nurse stepped to the side to prepare the pain medication which effectively left an opening for Sam to move in next to Callen. Sam moved closer and half kneeled on the floor so his face was in line with Callen's. "I'm right here, you're gonna be okay, just talk to me okay?" Sam voiced.

When G heard Sam's voice clearly, he opened his eyes and was relieved to see his partner's face so close, even if it was covered with worry.

"Shot again huh?" Callen started, trying his best to ignore whatever these doctors were doing to his back.

Sam shook his head in disbelief. "You gotta stop doing this to me man, Hetty's gonna kick my ass, if I don't have a heart attack first that is." G shut his eyes when he felt another painful shock run through his back and down his arm. The pain caused G to grunt again.

"I don't know why…" Callen started.

"You don't know why what?" Sam urged, not knowing what his partner was talking about.

"I always get shot." G finished his thought. "You're way bigger."

For the first time in hours, Sam cracked a smile. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"I'm gonna be so bored." G complained. Out of all the things Callen was worried about, it was being ordered to have bed rest and not be allowed to work until his wounds healed. Sam shook his head in disbelief.

"We'll set you up with some Netflix and you'll be just fine." Sam offered.

"Agent Callen." Clemens interrupted. "We're going to give you something more for the pain now, it may make you drowsy."

At the word 'drowsy' Callen began to panic. He still didn't know what happened. He worked hard to remember the events that lead to this moment and suddenly, he remembered the sniper and the man that was behind Sam back at the abandoned building.

"Wait, Sam. The shooter…"

"Don't worry G, he was neutralized, Miller confirmed it." Sam quickly answered.

"No, no, the heat signature, how many…" His voice trailed off as the medications seemed to be taking effect. "One more…" he slurred and that was the last coherent word Sam heard before Callen slumped limply against the hands holding him up as he passed out.

 **TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note:** Hey guys! Sorry for the crazy wait. I knew exactly how I wanted this chapter to end but I had some trouble filling the events from where I left off last chapter, so it took me a while. As a result, there's a lot of fluff in this chapter which isn't my favorite thing to write but everything was driven by angst and worry for Callen, which _is_ something I love 😊 Writing this has been so fun and rewarding with your reviews. I really can't thank you all enough for that part because I know you don't have to write anything at all.

" _Don't worry G, he was neutralized, Miller confirmed it." Sam quickly answered._

" _No, no, the heat signature, how many…" His voice trailed off as the medications seemed to be taking effect. "One more…" he slurred and that was the last coherent word Sam heard before Callen slumped limply against the hands holding him up as he passed out._

"One more what…? G?" Sam turned to look at Ames. "Doc, what's wrong? What happened?"

"He's out." One of the nurses answered for Ames and Sam shook his head. The agent was beside himself.

"I need to know what he was talking about! You said he couldn't be knocked out or his chances went down, why did you-"

"The dose wasn't strong enough to knock him out." Ames interrupted. "His body's too exhausted, this is a natural sleep not induced by medications, he'll be okay." The ER doctor tried to calm the agent who had now witnessed his friend lose consciousness for the second time today.

There was a quiet pause where all the medical personnel continued to work on Callen, many still holding his limp body up on his side. One nurse finally spoke up. "Are we in danger here?"

Sam looked to his left to see a nurse staring right at him. He knew what she was referring to, the last words G had spoken about the shooter. "The sniper was found and taken care of, everything's fine now." Sam assured the crowd.

"Alright, the bleeding's under control." Clemens suddenly reported to the room. "The entry wound is sutured and starting to clot."

Sam glanced up at the surgeon and then looked down at Callen's back. The amount of blood that coated his friend's skin, the surgeon's hands, and the floor was concerning, to say the least.

"That's a lot of blood." Sam stated in apprehension. No wonder his friend had passed out.

Clemens nodded his understanding and spoke. "He was on blood thinners after the surgery. It's procedure, however, when he had the seizure he reopened his stitches and the bleeding was excessive, it's under control now though." Sam broke his eye contact with the surgeon and looked down at his friend's lax face. It was comforting to know at least his partner wasn't in pain at the moment.

The surgeon looked up at Sam again and spoke. "Sam, thankyou for your help. Jordan why don't you bring him back to the waiting room so we can get Agent Callen settled for the night, and get this room cleaned up."

Sam knew better not to argue. Twice now, these doctors had let him stay in the room while they worked on his best friend and surrogate brother. That had never been allowed before, not even with his own family and kids.

"Okay. Thanks for everything guys." The agent glanced at both doctors before reluctantly turning and heading out the door. He took one more glance at G's side lying form before he exited the room into the quiet hallway.

Once in the hallway, Sam shook his head, he couldn't figure it out. "Why did they let me in there?" Sam spoke aloud but the thought was merely for himself.

Jordan glanced at Sam and offered an answered. "Both Ames and Clemens were surgeons in the army before they were surgeons here. They're old school you could say. They also treat similarly. I guess in their field experience they found no medicine works as well as people do."

Sam looked at Jordan and then down at the floor. He nodded his understanding as he shared the same outlook. He also shared many first-hand experiences, back when he was a SEAL.

"I gotta thank him later." Sam stated aloud, again, more to himself than to the op nurse.

Sam rounded the corner and pushed through the waiting room door, nodding his thanks to the nurse who had walked him back.

As soon as Sam pushed through the door, Kensi and Deeks shot up from their seats in obvious distress. Hetty's eyes bore holes in Sam's face trying to read his facial expressions and Nell spoke immediately. "What happened to him? Is he okay?"

Sam quickly nodded and spoke to his worried colleagues. "He had a seizure and they were having trouble removing the breathing tube after he came out of it, I just talked to him." Sam stated simply. "He's passed out now, not in pain at the moment which is great." The agent added, trying hard to find the positives in this scary situation.

His coworkers looked relieved but Hetty pressed on. "A seizure? I don't remember him sustaining any head trauma during..." Sam looked at her and shook his head in question. "I don't know why he had one, he didn't hit his head I don't think."

Nell chimed in. "You can have one if you have a high fever too." The tech agent tried to come up with a logical explanation for her friend's symptoms, it was her nature after all.

Kensi finally spoke. "Well, when can we see him?"

Sam shook his head again. "I'm not sure, they said once he's cleaned up, and I'm assuming stable." Sam offered. Kensi looked disappointed and gazed away from Sam and down at the floor.

It looked like the agents would just have to wait, again.

 **xxxx**

About forty-five minutes later, a voice broke the light banter between the NCIS agents in the small waiting room. "Family of Callen?"

All six heads snapped up and made eye contact with the dark haired, averaged height man with a white coat and scrubs on.

"My name is Dr. Clemens, I operated on your friend earlier. I wanted to let you know he is stable and in recovery."

Everyone sighed in relief. "Thankyou Dr. Clemens. Is he awake?" Hetty asked eagerly. She needed to see her boy.

"No he is not." And just like that the surgeon crushed her hopes.

"However, I know you've all been waiting here for a long time, so I will allow one, a maximum of two, visitors at a time to see him now… if you'd like."

The agents looked at each other and back at the surgeon gratefully. They were finally going to see Callen safe in a hospital bed after this long night and morning they all bore witness too.

Sam looked at Hetty while the surgeon waited. "I'll go last." He declared. "You all need to see him first… and to talk some sense into him so he stops scaring us half to death."

Kensi nodded and looked at Deeks. "Hetty why don't you go, we'll go after you." Nell and Eric nodded their agreement and saw Hetty stand up.

The small woman walked up to the surgeon and said, "Shall we?"

"Of course." Clemens uttered.

The pair moved out of the waiting room and into the hallway as the door shut behind them. The surgeon looked down at Hetty and spoke. "Ms. Lange, as you are G Callen's healthcare proxy, I wanted to update you on his most recent status."

She nodded, curious what the surgeon was about to tell her. "Yes, Mr. Clemens."

"I wanted to prepare you, it appears Agent Callen has been having nightmares since he's been unconscious. My guess is they are linked to the events that lead to his admittance today which is not unusual considering what he's gone through. I don't know if you have experience with this but I wanted to prepare you none the less." Hetty did not look up.

"Oh Mr. Clemens." She began. "I unfortunately am too familiar with the repercussions this job has on my agents, on Mr. Callen especially. He was dealt a tough hand and has been through too much hardship in his lifetime already." She stated sadly without looking at the surgeon.

Clemens looked down at his feet. He felt foolish for assuming his patient's social history was unscathed. He knew the agent had a history of gunshot wounds but other than that, the man was a mystery to him.

"He also has been talking in his sleep, I haven't been able to understand any of what he's saying though." The surgeon added. Hetty nodded again without looking up. She did not seem phased or surprised by what Clemens had just told her and the surgeon became even more intrigued by his patient than he was before.

The two reached Callen's room and Clemens lead Hetty through the door.

The operations manager stepped over the threshold and finally looked up in search for her surrogate son. She saw Callen's supine form on the hospital bed but was unable to see his face as it was turned away from the door towards the wall. She could see the slow rise and fall of his chest that was half covered by white dressings. She hastily moved forward towards the bed and looked down at Callen who was quietly mumbling in an obvious restless sleep.

Hetty placed one hand on the side of the lead agent's chin, the other on his forehead and gently turned his head so it was facing up towards the ceiling. The agent's eyes were scrunched shut and he muttered something that Dr. Clemens still could not understand. The surgeon stood back in a trans waiting to see if the NCIS manager could calm his agitated patient.

"Oh my dear boy, just rest now, you are safe." Hetty stroked the agent's forehead in an attempt to calm his terror filled dreams. Callen tilted his head to the side which increased the pressure his cheek made against Hetty's small palm. He continued to mumble, some words louder than others, all seemingly incomprehensible.

"Baiatul meu." Hetty repeated her previous statement in Romanian. "Ma odihnesc acum." She stroked the agent's forehead trying to calm him.

The surgeon shook his head in disbelief. He felt like the dumbest man on the planet. So apparently his patient was speaking a different language which is why he couldn't understand his restless statements. That certainly explained a lot.

After a few seconds, the agent's scrunched expression lessened and his mumbles began to quiet. "That's it, esti in siguranta." Callen's expression continued to soften and suddenly, his eye lids fluttered and cracked open. He looked confused and alarmed but seeing the blue orbs brought joy to Hetty's heart. "Everyone is okay, just rest for now, we are all here." Callen looked towards Hetty but the ops manager was unsure if her agent was truly seeing her.

"You will rest Mr. Callen, that's an order." Callen shut his eyes and after a few moments, nodded his understanding. He let his head slowly turn to the side as he welcomed the blackness of sleep once again. He had heard Hetty's voice near his ear and knew he was safe again.

 **xxxx**

Over the next hour, everyone had gotten a chance to see Callen and confirm that he was quietly resting and out of danger. Once the lead agent had been cleaned up and stabilized, Dr. Ames had returned back downstairs to finish off the end of his shift before he was to head home. On the other end, Dr. Clemens had just started his shift and was off performing back to back scheduled heart surgeries while Callen continued to rest.

Nell and Eric were sent back to the OSP building to review the mission and figure out who these people were that had assumingly targeted Callen directly. They were to start by IDing the suspects in the morgue and figure out what ties, if any, they may have had with the NCIS agent.

After sitting with Callen for twenty minutes or so, Hetty had since returned to the operating waiting room and had no intentions of leaving any time soon. She kicked back and read a book she had left in her car, making sure to stay in close-proximity to her vulnerable agent down the hall.

Kensi and Deeks had relieved themselves to the cafeteria for some much-needed breakfast but had intended to return and keep Hetty company while Sam stayed in Callen's room, once they were finished.

Sam sat next to Callen's sleeping form in utter silence. His elbows were rested on the bed next to G's lifeless arm and his hands covered his mouth. Sam was staring blanky at Callen's hand which revealed small jagged cuts the tile pieces must have made when the sniper was shooting at them in the hallway. Sam had matching cuts across both his forearms that had yet to be cleaned, but he could care less about them right now.

G began to stir suddenly and his eyes fluttered. Sam switched his gaze to his friend's face and waited with hope to see if his partner was coming to. To his excitement, Callen's eyes finally cracked open and were trained up at the ceiling. "G, you're awake."

The young agent's eyes suddenly darted to his left and he made eye contact with his partner. "Jesus, you scared me." Callen shut his eyes, and then after a moment, reopened them. "And good observation."

The edges of Sam's mouth suddenly crept up as his previous worried expression shifted to amusement and relief. "Sorry man, you've been sleeping for way too long, you're so lazy." Sam added the last statement as a jab which finally caused Callen to crack a smile.

"God, I feel like I've been hit by a train." Callen stated as he squeezed his eyes shut in obvious discomfort. His voice still sounded raspy and weak but Sam couldn't be happier to hear his old friend talking like himself again.

"Do you want me to get the doctor?" Sam asked but G had already started shaking his head no before he spoke it. "No, please, I hate how foggy those meds make me feel." Sam nodded his understanding and continued to stare at his partner's face. The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Callen finally spoke.

"Thanks for being in there with me man."

Sam looked up at Callen's face and replied. "Of course, I still can't believe they even let me though."

Callen's brow furrowed in thought prompting him to ask. "Wait, what kind of strings did you pull to get access to my room during all that?"

Sam shook his head, still in disbelief and answered. "It was your ER doc, Dr. Ames. He was apparently a surgeon in the army and understands the importance of teammates in the field, he saved your life, him and your surgeon."

Callen looked away from Sam's gaze and shook his head in astonishment. "Wow, I gotta thank him…" The lead agent stated to himself.

Sam let out a snort of amusement and agreed. "That's exactly what I said during the _second_ walk I took when I left your room and all that chaos. He literally asked for my help, he's a good guy."

Callen shut his eyes, he was becoming more aware and alert which he liked, but his body was so tired and painful. It was beckoning him to sleep again. "Hey can you get me some pants to wear, and maybe a gallon of water to drink, my throat is killing me."

Sam let out a chuckle and stood, turning his back to his friend and walking towards the small closet next to the door. "The pants, I can do." Sam grabbed a blue pair of hospital scrubs from the shelf and threw them towards his friend. The material landed on Callen's blanket-covered legs which the lead agent quickly grabbed and worked to don. "The water not so much, they did leave you ice chips to have for now though." Callen nodded his thanks and after getting the pants on, he was wiped.

Sam took a look at his partner and could tell he was drifting again. "Why don't you rest for now, it's almost time for rounds and your surgeon should be checking in with you sometime soon."

Callen sighed tiredly. He let out a yawn and then started rubbing at his chest. "This is itchy." He stated as his fingers reached through the white dressings in an attempt to relieve his discomfort. "Ow! Shit…" Callen gasped and removed his hand, he had hit something that was tender which shot a wave of pain through his chest and down his arm.

"Jesus G, leave it alone." Sam reached for his hand and pinned it gently down to the bedspread. "You got shot and had surgery, don't scratch at it, you can't just poke at an incision."

Callen sighed. "It was itchy Sam, if something itches you itch it." Callen knew he was being stubborn but he hated being pampered, or told what to do. G reached his hand up towards the dressings once again instinctively to relieve the itch again.

Sam intercepted his reach and returned his hand back down to the bed. "Don't touch it."

Callen groaned in frustration, he was already bored. This was going to suck royally.

Sam exhaled audibly. He knew his friend was in pain and knew he hated hospitals purely due to the sheer boredom of the whole patient experience. He looked around and reached for the remote. "Why don't I turn on the TV for you. I'm gonna let someone know you're awake too."

The agent pouted and shut his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

Sam clicked the power button on and moved the monitor closer to G's face. He placed the remote on Callen's lap and then picked up his partner's hand, positioning it on top of the remote. "Okay, there you go, why don't you put on your favorite show." Callen slowly opened his eyes and glared at Sam. "You know I don't watch TV."

Sam let out a chuckle "I know buddy. Okay, I gotta go make a phone call, can you just not do anything stupid for like five minutes?"

"Probably." Callen stated in his raspy voice. Sam turned to leave.

"Sam?" Callen called out and Sam quickly turned around. "No narcotics, but I could use a high dose Advil, can you ask?" Sam nodded seriously and replied. "Say no more buddy, I'm on it."

Sam continued to look at Callen. "I'm so glad you're awake man, you really scared me this time." Callen looked down awkwardly and then back up at his surrogate brother. "I scared myself, thanks for everything though Sam."

The tall agent gave his friend a smile before he exited the room and made his way down the hall. He had to call Eric. He had just remembered Callen's comment about the fourth heat signature and wanted to get Nell and Eric working on a head count of fatalities for the operation last night.

Sam made a stop at the surgical floor desk and informed the nurse sitting there that Callen had woken up and that he was in pain but was refusing narcotics. The nurse nodded her understanding and made her way to inform a doctor on call as Clemens was stuck in surgery. Sam voiced his thanks and then headed down the stairs to the first floor. He needed some air and wanted to get out of all these small rooms he had been subjected to while waiting for Callen to recover. He walked through the ER hallway and took a seat in one of the chairs nearest the front entrance.

Sam pulled out his cellphone and dialed Eric's number in the Ops Center. The phone rang twice and the agent shut his eyes in exhaustion. "Hello Sam, what can I do for you?"

"Hey Eric, I need you to look up-" Sam was suddenly shoved forward out of his seat and was swiftly kicked in the side of the jaw. He was caught completely off guard and his phone went flying. Sam flipped onto his back instinctively to figure out who had just hit him when a man in a grey hoodie jumped on top of his body and pinned him to the floor.

The man held a gun trained right at Sam's head and spit out in a heavy Russian accent: "Where's the agent Callen, tell me NOW!"

All the people in the waiting room reacted and many screamed in terror as they ran away from the entrance. "He has a gun!" One woman screamed as she lifted her young daughter up and away from the scene.

A nurse at the front had ducked down beneath her triage window as soon as she saw the gun and yelled. "Someone call in a Code Silver, get security down here now!" She screamed to nurses behind her.

 **TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

"You son of a bitch!" Sam yelled at the man whose face was pale and sweaty inches away from his own. The hooded man kept his gun positioned at Sam's head while he dug his knees into Sam's hip and right leg. The senior agent was effectively pinned and clearly stunned by the rough kick he had just taken to the face. Sam tried to pull one of his arms free but was cold cocked suddenly with the butt end of the gun. Sam let out a frustrated, pained yell and tried to squirm free. His vision was whirling.

"Tell me where Callen is now! I will kill you, shoot you right in the head!" The man screamed at Sam. He was furious and Sam could tell the man had every intention to shoot him without hesitation. The agent refused to speak and again, tried to slide his hand out from his pinned side.

"Oh my God, Sam!" A voice broke from the hallway. _Finally._

"Federal Agents, put your hands in the air!" Deeks screamed in the direction of his fallen friend. "Get the hell off of him!"

The hooded man shot his head up and reacted immediately. He flipped his body over and aimed at the new voice. He made off five shots forcing the two armed agents to take cover. The gunfire caused the rest of the patients and medical personnel to scream in terror once again.

 **xxxx**

Dr. Ames thought he heard distant yelling, but his suspicions were confirmed when he heard the distinct sound of gunfire coming from his ER. _What the hell?_

The doctor zipped out of his current patient's room and made his way down the hall. His mission was halted when a physician assistant yanked Ames' arm and pulled him to the side. "There's a guy with a gun down there shooting and screaming, get down!"

The doctor half kneeled on the floor next to the PA and thought hard for a minute. The ER doctor had seen a lot in his lifetime, but that was in war, all off US soil. He had never witnessed something this serious in LA before. Ames shook off the PA's hold, nodded he understood, and slid behind a triage desk. He saw a nurse ducking for cover there.

"Are you okay?" He asked the shaking woman who was huddled behind the desk, obviously scared beyond measure.

The nurse looked up to see the physician and nodded quickly. "Where's security?" She asked erratically. Ames looked behind him, there was no one in the close vicinity he could ask.

"Were they called?" He questioned. Just then, the loud speaker came alive and a voice came through. "Code Silver, ER waiting room, repeat Code Silver, ER waiting room, STAT."

"Did the guy with the gun say anything or is he just shooting?" Ames asked quietly.

The nurse continued to quiver and cover her head but eventually spoke. "He's yelling that he wants someone, some Agent something, I don't know, the guy's crazy!"

Ames looked down at the ground. "Some agent?" … _Crap._

The doctor slid away from the cradled nurse and moved closer towards the ER waiting room. He continued to slide under desks and behind crash carts until he finally got an obstructed view of the scene. He saw a figure on the ground, pinned and bleeding, and two other armed individuals taking cover behind two support beams holding guns. He recognized the team in an instant.

"I want Agent Callen, NOW! You tell me or you die!" The gunmen screamed at Sam.

The doctor's fears were confirmed in that one statement. "Callen." He whispered to himself and the doctor turned and made a break towards the emergency exit stairwell.

Kensi made off two bullets, purposely aiming wide to avoid hitting Sam, but her efforts were answered by two quick return shots striking inches away from her side.

The armed assailant then redirected his aim at Sam but the senior agent had finally gotten his hand unpinned. He reached up and grabbed the man by his neck, wrenching him forward and then pushing him back off balance. The hooded man responded and shot his gun twice, two misses by inches from Sam's face. The senior agent then elbowed the man in the face knocking him backwards off his body.

The shooter did not give up though. He pounced back towards Sam and wrung his elbow around the agent's neck, forcing him to stand and act as a human shield for him. Sam kicked one of his legs back causing one of the hooded man's shins to snap and crumble under the assault. The shooter fell to one knee but still reached and gripped onto Sam forearm yanking him back again. He was desperate to remain covered from the other two federal agents ten feet away.

"Your friend is dirt! He will die in pain for what he has done!" The man spit out. Sam had had enough. He swung around and connected his fist with the man's jaw knocking him forcefully to the floor. Deeks then found his opening and made off two shots through the man's chest.

Kensi and Deeks quickly stood and moved in, their guns pointed directly at the assailant gasping on the floor.

Sam pushed himself up onto one knee when he suddenly lost his balance.

"Sam you good?" Deeks reached his hand out and helped the senior agent into a sitting position. The agent was trying to fix his vision on something to make the room stop spinning.

Kensi reached for the man's gun and easily shoved it out and away from the attacker's now lax hand. They all looked down at the fading Russian who was... laughing?

The hooded assailant was chuckling, blood slowly dripping out of his mouth and onto his chin. Sam shook his head forcefully, still trying to correct his vision as he stared down at the gunman. "Nice try asshole, you're getting off easy." Sam forced out, knowing the man was about to die.

The bleeding gunman continued to chuckle and finally spoke. "Gave 'em plenty of time… you… lose." And just like that, the man's eyes went slack and he stopped breathing. Sam looked up at Kensi and then at Deeks.

Just then four security guards made their way into the waiting room. "Put your weapons down!" One officer yelled as he aimed his gun at Sam.

"I'm not armed, I'm a federal agent, relax."

Another officer trained his weapon at Kensi then Deeks who both opened their hands in innocence and slowly pulled out their badges. "Federal agents, stand down." Deeks repeated and the officers finally lowered their weapons.

"What happened here?" The lead policeman asked looking down at the body on the floor. Sam knew there was no time to explain now.

"The guy came at me but he's threatening my teammate who's a patient upstairs, we need to go and check on him."

The officer nodded. "Okay, go, but not far. I'll take your statements shortly." The cop then turned to face his colleagues. "Hunter, Arndt, stay and make sure the area is secured and the suspect is handled."

Sam looked anxiously at Kensi then to Deeks. "We need to check on Callen now. Go!" Sam yelled and the junior agents took off down the hall towards the stairs without a second thought. Sam stood and moved as quickly as he could following his teammates towards the surgical floor.

"Just be fine." Sam whispered to anyone who was listening. "Please."

 **xxxx**

Ames stormed through the stairway door and ran down the surgical floor.

The hallway was dead, likely because the hospital was implementing a lockdown protocol, but there were a few nurses and surgeons still at the head desk gathering patient documents. One doctor looked up when he saw the ER physician running and shouted to him.

"Ames did you just come from downstairs? What the hell is going on?" The rest of the medical staff stopped what they were doing and looked up anxiously to hear the answer.

Matt halted his advance and spun to look at the man who just spoke. "We need security up here _now_ , is the patient Callen still in 302?" He asked frantically.

The surgeon was taken aback and looked at his colleagues and then at the patient board. "Um last I knew, Jenny, did he get taken up to his new room yet?"

"No, he's still there, he's asleep."

"I just paged security." Another nurse called out.

"The patient's a federal agent and the shooter's looking for him. Make sure security gets here stat." And with that the physician ran off towards room 302.

As soon as he approached the door he could see a nurse in scrubs standing over Callen who was restlessly sleeping. _Oh thank God._

"Hey, let's get this door shut and locked, this patient's in danger." Ames voiced to the nurse while he turned his attention back down the hallway to see if anyone was coming. However, the nurse did not respond and slowly turned to look at Ames.

A deep voice from behind Matt suddenly sounded, "Indeed he is, doctor."

Ames was shoved forward through the remainder of the door frame and tripped to his hands and knees onto the floor. He whirled around to see a large man in dark clothes step into the room and yank the door shut behind them.

The nurse looked up at the large man in the doorway seemingly unalarmed. The intruder then called out to the nurse and nodded his head backwards in the direction of the door. "Abram, закрыть дверь."

The man in scrubs nodded his understanding and moved away from Callen and towards the door. He knelt to the floor and slid out a duffel bag that was hidden behind a waste basket next to the entryway and began to unzip it.

Ames scrambled to his feet when he saw the tall man turn and walk towards Callen fearing for his vulnerable patient.

"Cal- " was all the doctor got out before he was quickly grabbed by the shirt and yanked towards the man's face. The trespasser clasped his hand around the doctor's mouth before he could further warn the unaware patient and pulled him in close. "Listen to me doctor."

Ames had no choice but to stare into the Russian's eyes and await his fate. His hold was firm and the doctor didn't dare move now. His mind was racing trying to figure out a way to warn Callen of his imminent danger but he was now worried about his own life.

"I have no business with you. You sit and make no noise or I will stab you in the throat." Ames looked into the man's light eyes and knew he was not kidding. He nodded sharply and was pushed to the side of the room again. He landed with a thud on his rear.

The Russian then strode towards Callen's bed and yelled at him from across the room. "Oh Agent Callen, how are you still alive!?" G's eyes shot open and he oriented himself in time to feel a hand on his shoulder and a fist slam into his face.

Callen's head snapped to the side from the blow and he quickly pulled his forearms up to block the next assault reflexively. The punch was effectively blocked but the Russian roughly gripped one of Callen's wrists and twisted it away from his face causing G to grunt in pain.

The agent reached up with his free hand and flattened his palm out against the man's neck and chin desperately trying to protect himself and keep the man away. However, the action was countered with a sharp elbow to the temple causing the agent's arms to slacken as his vision blacked out for a moment.

With Callen temporarily disoriented, the Russian easily crossed Callen's arms in an 'X' and pinned them down across his bandaged chest. He closed one hand around the agent's crossed wrists and gripped G's chin with the other. The tall man stared into Callen's eyes.

As Callen's vision cleared, he looked up to see the man who was assaulting him, and he couldn't believe who he saw.

"Vadim?" He questioned in disbelief.

"Вы предатель." The Russian spoke with disgust.

Callen shook his head 'no'. "я не, я никогда не лгал." He countered back defensively.

G's strength was growing and he started to struggle against his pinned position now.

"ты убил мою семью!" Vadim accused, raising his voice once again.

"нет!" Callen denied and Vadim punched the agent in the face ripping his bottom lip open.

G shook his head and slipped one of his hands out from under Vadim's one-handed hold.

"You killed them!" Vadim accused again. The man looked close to tears as he roughly tried to hold Callen in place.

"вы знаете, что это не так!" G quickly kicked one of his legs from under the covers into the Russian's gut causing him to double over and gasp in pain.

The man on the floor who was working away at something deep inside the duffel turned his attention behind him at the sound of his accomplice's grunt. "Папа!" He shouted and quickly stood up and marched over to assist, anger in his eyes.

Ames was frozen. He was petrified he was about to watch his patient die as the other Russian moved towards him and wanted to do something. He also knew this was the only opening he would get to find something he could use to help. The doctor looked around the room and his eyes landed on the discarded duffle. He looked up to see the struggle between agent and enemy and Callen was somehow holding his own, for the moment.

The ER doctor made his decision and he slid over towards the bag. Looking in he saw some kind of metal device that he couldn't identify. Matt looked up at the men who were shouting in Russian at the fading agent. "Go, go, go, go." Ames mantraed to himself.

He quickly sifted through the contents when his hand landed on a small vile with a cap. The doctor pulled the bottle out and saw it was a prescription filled with clear liquid, the label written in Russian. The doctor pocketed the vile, not caring what the liquid was. He knew at a high enough dose, any medication could be fatal, or at least knock someone out which was all he needed. Now what he needed was something to inject the medication with. Matt looked around the room for the locked cabinet with the syringes in it. To his fears, he saw the cabinet right above Callen's bed. His hopes deflated immediately.

Ames looked down at Callen who was basically pinned and panting tiredly on the bed. His window was about to close. The doctor then looked at the door. He could just run out, there was nothing he could do now. Thinking quickly, Ames cursed himself inwardly and slowly stood up, making his decision. He placed his hand on the door knob and looked one more time back towards his patient. He would just go and get help and come right back, the agent would be fine.

To the doctor's surprise, Callen was staring right at him when he made eye contact and Ames was taken aback. G was still struggling against the two men but he closed his eyes in confirmation and nodded once. Ames shut his eyes. His patient was giving him the okay to flee.

The ER doctor shook his head sadly and looked down in defeat. Just then he heard quickly approaching footsteps coming towards them from the nurse's station. Hope ignited in his chest again. His eyes then caught something in the waste basket next to the door and lying on top of the pile was a discarded syringe. The doctor didn't think, he just reached in and grabbed the syringe as he knelt back down towards the floor. He slid away from the door as one of the men turned around with a questioned look on his face.

 **TBC**

Вы предатель. _You are a traitor._

я не, я никогда не лгал. _I am not, I never lied._

ты убил мою семью! _You killed my family!_

Нет! _No!_

вы знаете, что это не так! _You know that's not true!_

Папа! _Father!_


	9. Chapter 9

_The ER doctor shook his head sadly and looked down in defeat. Just then he heard quickly approaching footsteps coming towards them from the nurse's station. Hope ignited in his chest again. His eyes then caught something in the waste basket next to the door and lying on top of the pile was a discarded syringe. The doctor didn't think, he just reached in and grabbed the syringe as he knelt back down towards the floor. He slid away from the door as one of the men turned around with a questioned look on his face._

"Abram, they are coming." Vadim voiced as soon as he heard the shouting and footsteps coming from down the hall. The imposter in scrubs nodded and trudged over to the duffle by the door.

He then yanked out some kind of device which he quickly lifted and slammed onto the door seam. The voices down the hall grew closer and then suddenly, Deeks' face came into view through the window as his elbow slammed into the door. "Hey, back the hell up!" He yelled furiously.

Abram held the door shut with the device as Deeks attempted to jar it open. "Open the damn door!" He screamed and slammed his fist into the window. The Russian then twisted a handle and sparks started flying from the appliance. The smell of cauterizing metal filled the room and after a few moments the machine suddenly jammed and silenced.

Sam's face appeared in the window in place of Deeks' and he searched the room for Callen. He quickly found him struggling and pinned down by someone large. He also saw blood covering his partner's chin and mouth. Anger flared in his chest. "Federal Agents! Open it right now!" Sam yelled, blood dripping down his lip as his cut from downstairs easily re-opened.

Callen shifted his gaze over to the door and saw Sam's face, which was bleeding, in the window frame. His partner was here.

Abram looked up from the device and stared deeply into Sam's eyes from the other side of the door. A dark smile grew across his mouth seeing the anger he had just caused the agent. "Эта дверь закрыта." The Russian called out to Vadim over his shoulder and with that he turned his back to the agent.

Sam was furious. He took a step back and then ducked his shoulder down as he plowed his body weight into the door. There was a resultant impact heard but the door barely budged. He yelled in frustration. "Deeks, help me!"

"Sam, it's melted shut, we need someone to cut it open." Deeks turned to Kensi. "Call the Fire Department, I'll call ops and see how quickly a SWAT team can get here."

Sam backed up and put his hands on his knees, his head dropped down and he took several deep breaths. Deeks could tell the man was hurting, both physically and emotionally, and he walked over to him. The junior agent placed a hand on the large man's back and bent over so he could talk quietly to him. "Sam, we need you here buddy, Callen needs you, help me think of a solution."

Sam took several more deep breaths, exhaled, and finally straightened up. Deeks looked back at him and was surprised from what he saw.

Sam's eyes were filled with unshed tears and he huffed in defeat. "I'm not watching my partner die when I'm ten feet in front of him, man. I can't…" Sam stopped, not trusting his voice or emotions anymore. Deeks' heart tore in half, both his senior agents were in impossible situations right now.

"I know, trust me." Deeks started. "Let's just do everything we can right now, we're his best shot and you know it." Sam shut his eyes and nodded sharply in agreement. He pressed at his eyes with his fingers and discarded the moisture onto his jeans. Deeks continued staring at the big man hoping he could get him to focus.

"We need to get SWAT here fast, but they're not gonna listen to my orders." Deeks planted the easy question and solution to his superior, trying to get him back on track and focused.

Sam took the bait and looked around. "Where the hell is Hetty?"

Deeks nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking, try the waiting room, I'll call Eric now." And with that both agents parted and Sam seemed back on task.

The junior agent speed dialed the Ops Center and filled Eric in briefly, urging them to send SWAT immediately. He hung up the phone and saw Kensi headed towards him.

"Fire Department's on their way." She started. "And they're just down the street so they said less than five minutes." Deeks nodded in affirmation. Shouting from an unknown voice behind the door prompted both agents to run and look through the glass. They looked in to see a man screaming at Callen and the two agents felt utterly helpless.

Vadim gripped Callen's wrist and wrapped his other hand around the agent's throat, the Russian was winded from G's struggles. "Just tell me why!" He boomed breathlessly.

Callen gasped for air. He let go of Vadim's wrist and hooked his fingers around the man's palm, trying desperately to ease the pressure on his wind pipe.

"Why is my wife and child GONE?" The Russian had tears in his eyes and his face was covered with hatred.

Callen was able to pry Vadim's fingers away from his throat enough so he could take a small breath in. The agent knew he had to answer the man or his chances plummeted as Vadim's anger intensified.

"She… found out what… you did and… didn't-" Callen's voice was weak and strangled. He stopped his answer and squeezed his eyes shut. G's whole body was exhausted and throbbing. He had no oxygen left. Vadim seemed to notice the problem and roughly freed the agent's throat causing G's chin to thrust upward upon his release.

Callen coughed roughly and took in a shaky breath. He quickly continued. "She didn't know what… to do. So she asked me." Vadim's face went beat red in rage.

The angered Russian wasn't getting the answers he was looking for and his patience was just about gone. "She left and then was killed because you told her to-"

"She left because she was afraid of you!"

Vadim's face scrunched and he let out a shout of frustration. The man pulled his fist back and slammed it down against Callen's cheek. G's vision dipped again and all he could see was blackness.

"нож!" Vadim yelled and Abram began to move. G's adrenaline spiked and he blinked furiously trying to regain his sight. _No, no, no._

Ames quickly turned his head to look at the tall Russian. He knew what that word meant from medical school and his heart rate spiked in concern.

Sam rounded the corner, Hetty in tow, and walked over to the tranced junior agents. "What is Mr. Callen's status?" Hetty demanded.

Deeks looked down and took a step back. "Uh, he's taken some hits to the face, just roughed up it looks like, the guy looks pissed though."

"Do we know who he is?" Kensi quickly asked Hetty.

"Yes. In the time I was locked out from this floor, I spoke with Ms. Jones and got a positive ID on Vadim, Abram, and Alexi Mikhailov."

"They're all related?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Mr. Callen worked undercover with the Mikhailov family while working for the CIA. Vadim, the head of the family, was an arm's dealer and killed many people to procure his weapons, he was a cold blooded killer. To my understanding, Mr. Callen befriended Mr. Mikhailov's wife and young daughter and got them to flee before Vadim could find out."

"So the guy's just pissed at Callen for sending his wife and daughter away?"

"No." Hetty answered swiftly. "The man thinks they're dead. Mr. Callen wanted it that way so Vadim wouldn't go searching for them."

Abram's face appeared in the window suddenly and he was staring at Sam again. None of the agents noticed into he clanged something up against the glass. Sam turned and his heart dropped at what he saw.

The senior agent charged at the door and slammed his hand against the window causing the Russian to flinch back in surprise. The man smiled back at him though and his eyes narrowed. "You will watch him suffer, and then he will die for what he has done." Abram stated, his words sounding muffled through the closed door.

"No! G! No!" Sam was panicking.

Just then a group of firemen appeared down the hall and were carrying various saws and machinery. Kensi ran up to them. "It's this door, please hurry, they're going to kill a federal agent."

Two firemen exchanged worried looks and set their equipment down. Kensi gave the group a summary of what went down, trying to be useful, while Deeks and Sam watched the scene unfold in the hospital room.

Abram walked up to his father and handed him the object. Vadim took it and looked at Callen.

"I never found their bodies, tell me, where did you hide them!"

Callen's vision began to return in clumps and he looked up to see a knife pointed directly at him from above.

"No, stop, don't!" Ames pleaded from the floor as he started to get up. Abram whirled around and pointed down at the doctor. "You sit and shut up! You want to be next? That's no problem." The doctor plopped back down to the floor and looked over towards the door. The window was filled with the agent's team. He had to do something.

"Agent, TELL ME!" Vadim spit out but Callen did not respond. He couldn't tell him they were still alive, he would rather die.

"Gah!" Vadim screamed and plunged the knife down through Callen's right thigh. A scream was ripped from G's throat and he reached for the knife instinctively in an attempt to remove the agonizing stimulus. Callen let out a painful sob as he felt only the hilt of the knife sticking out, the rest of the blade painfully and tightly secured inside the depths of his thigh. He couldn't pull it out if he wanted to.

"No!" Deeks screamed and slammed his hand against the door. "Callen!"

"G! Ahh you bastard!" Sam screamed at seeing and hearing his brother cry in agony. He shut his eyes and took a step back. He suddenly felt light headed and stumbled to get his back against a wall.

A firefighter stood up and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Woah, easy buddy."

Hetty took over instantly. "Mr. Hanna, sit. Right now." Sam obliged and slid down the wall. He started to shake. Once he hit the floor, Hetty pushed his head down and instructed him to breathe and not to move.

Ames quickly reached in his pocket and pulled out the vile. He stabbed the needle through the top of the now opened bottle and filled the syringe up to the brim. He had to act now.

"где мои девушки?" Vadim asked Callen, his face inches from G's.

"Они ушли!" Callen yelled back, panting in pain.

"где мои девушки!?"

"Прошло!" Callen screamed.

The Russian gripped the hilt of the knife and jerked it counterclockwise. Callen cried out and groaned at the intense blast of pain the small movement had just caused him.

"где мои девушки!?" Vadim repeated. Not liking the answer he continued to receive.

"No, no, stop, God, stop-" Callen moaned as Vadim pushed down on the blade.

"Damn it, he can't take this…" Kensi stated in horror at hearing her team leader scream in pain again.

"What is he saying?" Deeks asked Hetty in a panic. She answered quickly. "He's asking where his girls are, and Callen keeps saying gone."

Ames thought fast and decided on a plan. The doctor shook his head in disbelief. _This is so not going to work_. "Hey! Leave him alone! You're surrounded, you're not getting out of this!" Ames shouted as he made his way to one knee.

Abram turned and stared intensely at the doctor.

"Kill him." Vadim ordered not breaking his eye contact with Callen.

The agent started to struggle again. "No! This is about me! Where's your honor?" G attempted to reason with the Russian.

Vadim punched him in the face which caused Callen to flinch and jostle the embedded knife in his thigh. He shouted out in pain. "Don't hurt him!" The agent tried once more as Abram walked towards the innocent doctor.

"This is sealed solid." A fireman announced as he donned a set of safety glasses. "This door will take some time, but what if we shatter the glass? We could do that fast." The firefighter looked to Hetty who was kneeled next to Sam and then at Deeks and Kensi. "Yes, do it now." Kensi confirmed. The firefighter nodded. "Alright, everyone back up."

Vadim gripped the knife and started to pull it out causing G to scream in discomfort again. "God- Sam!" He yelled.

"G." Sam shook his head. He heard the desperate plea of his partner and it broke his heart. _Why was he on the floor?_ He shook his head again, his brother needed him. "G, I'm coming!" Sam yelled as he stood up with the help of Hetty.

Abram closed the distance between Callen and the doctor and he reached his arms out to grasp the doctor's scrub top. As Abram latched his hands on, Ames thrusted the needle into the Russian's side and pushed his thumb as hard as he could on the plunger. The needle flipped out of his hand and Ames was unsure if the medicine had been injected.

Abram looked down and saw the nearly emptied syringe on the floor and Ames let out a sigh of relief. "What-?" Abram started and then he stumbled backwards.

"папа, доктор, мне нужна помощь…" He mumbled and fell to one knee, holding his chest. Ames watched on in shock and then looked up to see Vadim's eyes on his son's. He quickly took out the vile, grabbed the syringe from the floor, and refilled it. _Okay, one down, one to go._

Callen had found his opening. He reached down and gripped the knife with his hand. _This was going to hurt so bad._ He gripped it hard, squeezed his eyes shut, and then yanked it up as hard as he could. Callen screamed in pain but turned his palm to the side and thrust the knife sideways towards Vadim. The Russian turned and blocked the knife with his forearm but shouted in pain as the blade cut through his arm.

"We need to get in there! Do it now!" Kensi screamed at the firemen.

"Hang on, we almost got it, back up further!" One of the firemen replied.

Everyone backed up but Sam remained closest by the door. "Shoot once the window's out?" He asked his teammates. Both Kensi and Deeks nodded. I think one's down, but Vadim is still next to Callen, a doctor's in there too.

"Abram!" Vadim yelled as he punched Callen in the face and clapped his hand around the agent's throat again. The knife hung from the Russian's arm and he let go of Callen for a moment to pull it out. G pulled his arms up in defense to avoid being stabbed again, but he knew it was inevitable.

"Do it now!" Callen screamed knowing his team and other personnel were out there planning _something._ At least that's what he was hoping.

Ames stood and moved towards Vadim, the syringe in hand. Callen saw the doctor coming and shouted in the angry Russian's face to distract him just a moment longer. "They are not dead." G forced out through clenched teeth. Vadim stared down at Callen's face to see if what he said was the truth. He could tell it was.

Just then he felt a prick in the back of his shoulder and he reacted instantly. The Russian spun around and slapped the Doctor's hand away. He pulled the syringe out of his back and without thinking, plunged the needle down into Callen's chest.

The window on the door blew through and glass exploded into the room hitting the back wall near the hospital room window. G quickly reached for the syringe and tried to yank it off his chest before more of the medicine could be administered when he heard and saw three quick shots blast through Vadim's chest.

The man swayed dangerously as his knees gave out and he fell face first onto Callen's battered body.

 **TBC**

"Эта дверь закрыта." _The door is shut._

"нож!" _Knife!_

"где мои девушки?" _Where are my girls?_

"Они ушли!" _They are gone!_

"где мои девушки!?" _Where are my girls!?_

"Прошло!" _Gone!_

"Папа, доктор, мне нужна помощь…" _Father, the doctor, I need help…_


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with me this long and sorry for the crazy gap in postings. Your reviews are so rewarding though, thank you SO much for your support! I'm finishing up this story in full and am almost done with the next chapter. My hope is to post chapter 11 tonight as well. Enjoy!

 _G quickly reached for the syringe and tried to yank it off his chest before more of the medicine could be administered when he heard three quick shots blast through Vadim's body. The man swayed dangerously as his knees gave out and he fell face first onto Callen's body._

As the Russian slid off the gurney, his hand sluggishly reached for Callen and found a hold on the agent's shoulder. His body then dropped like a bag of bricks to the floor but his hold didn't let up. Callen was consequently pulled off the bed and dragged down to the floor with him.

Both parties hit the ground and let out woofs of pain. G blinked up at the ceiling, stunned for a moment while Vadim slowly reached overhead in desperate search for the knife he had just dropped.

"He's still alive! Callen, move!" Deeks yelled, panic laced in his voice as he aimed his gun through the window.

Callen registered his teammate's command and with the greatest of efforts, started to roll onto his side facing the bed he had just fallen from. He grunted from the exertion it took.

"Doc, get the knife!" Sam shouted as he helplessly saw the Russian's hand bump the edge of the blade in his listless search.

"Callen come on move it!" Kensi screamed, still not seeing a clear shot as her team leader's shoulder was still in the way.

As the doctor reached Vadim and stepped over him, the Russian had found his mark at the same time. He gripped the hilt and swung his hand up towards Ames, missing him by a hair. Vadim continued his swing as he rolled to face Callen. He roughly wrapped his elbow under the agent's chin and yanked him backwards.

"Hey, hey, let 'em go!" Sam yelled furiously.

Callen resisted being flipped over by clutching onto one of the legs of the hospital bed for leverage. Vadim then gripped at Callen's dressings across his chest and yanked the agent towards him again, this time succeeding while ripping a shout from G's throat. Callen was roughly flipped onto his back and felt his body half lying on top of his longtime foe. Vadim flipped the knife in his hand so the blade cut into the agent's throat, drawing a fresh line of blood and Callen stopped moving.

The doctor took a step back with his arms up when the Russian stared deathly into his eyes keeping the knife secured at Callen's neck.

"Woah, no stop!" Kensi yelled, she still couldn't find a shot. All three agents had their guns pointed through the tiny, blown out window now, desperate to shoot the man who had their leader at knife point.

"Tell me… where my girls are." Vadim breathlessly demanded. Callen tried to squirm free but his vision was hazed and his vigor was diminishing. He just couldn't find the energy to pry the quickly fading Russian's hands away from his throat. He groaned in frustration.

"Let him go you son of a bitch!" Sam yelled from the small open glass window. He watched on and could tell his friend was completely taxed out of energy to even defend himself. It made Sam furious.

"Vadim, I…" G's voice was weak and hushed, and the agent was unable to finish his thought.

The Russian let out a shaky breath and then shut his eyes in acceptance. "You will die for what you've done."

With that, Callen felt the pressure from the blade increase on his neck and a sudden sharp pain shot through his body. His adrenaline spiked. _I'm not dying like this._

With everything he had left, Callen mustered enough energy to tilt his chin forward and then knock his head backward connecting it hard against Vadim's face. He instantly broke free from the Russian's hold and dipped forward out of the line of fire. Three shots immediately blasted through the room.

And then there was silence.

"Target down." Kensi called out through the quiet hallway.

"Doc, grab that knife." Sam hastily ordered. He didn't take his eyes off his prone friend on the floor. "G, suspect's down, you're alright, time to get up buddy."

Callen opened his eyes and searched the room sluggishly. He didn't feel right. His adrenaline tanked now that the danger was neutralized and he abruptly felt the urge to sit up.

The agent let out a yelp of pain as soon as he moved his leg which caused both his hands to clasp around his throbbing thigh. Callen looked down and saw a red pool of dark blood encircling his lower body. He slowly flipped himself onto one shoulder, holding his leg tightly to the ground to stabilize it.

"G." Sam watched his friend with concern.

"Agent Callen, don't try to move." Doctor Ames was suddenly at Callen's side and his hands landed directly on the side of the agent's neck.

The doctor looked down and saw the knife wound that was leaking blood all over the floor. "Agent, put your hands on that wound and press down hard. That bleeding needs to stop."

Callen nodded his understanding and moved his fingers onto the hole in his quad. Even brushing over the oozing cut caused him to whimper, but it had to be done. He pressed as hard as he could.

"Press harder." Ames voiced and Callen felt the pressure of the doctor's gloved hand over his own. He was forced to press into the wound even more causing G to close his eyes while letting out a forceful exhalation.

"Is that door open yet?" Ames called over his shoulder. He tried to stay calm but knew by the amount of blood already on the floor that his patient's time was limited.

Sam looked behind him and waved the firemen over. "We need to get this door open, now."

One fireman nodded his head. "Alright, we're on it, we'll go as fast as we can but it could be a while."

Sam huffed in frustration and turned back to the doctor. "Not yet, they said it could take some time."

A moment went by and then Ames responded without turning away from Callen. "How long?"

Sam looked back at the men now kneeling on the floor. "We need an estimate."

The lead fireman sighed with impatience. "Twenty minutes I'd say."

Ames kept pressure on Callen's neck which was also dripping blood onto the floor. G was exhausted and his hands were losing feeling. He couldn't even tell if he was pressing on the wound anymore.

"N- n- no, keep your hands there, push harder." Ames urgently ordered as he saw Callen's hold loosen. G's fingers fumbled back to the knife wound but couldn't apply the necessary pressure. His head then sagged forward as his body became more lifeless.

"Agent, stay with me, stay awake, you need to hold this…" The doctor's words trailed off, knowing they were useless.

"I need some help in here!" He called out.

The NCIS team in the hallway frantically looked through the blasted window space, anxious to know the status of their friend and learn what was going on.

"What is it?" Deeks queried, fear laced in his words.

"He's bleeding out, I can't do this alone." The physician stated curtly.

"We have to get in there!" Sam exclaimed, startled by what he had just heard the doctor declare.

"We're nowhere near done, there's no way-"

"Blow the drywall down then, he's going to die!"

"Mr. Hanna, take a breath." Hetty bellowed up to her frantic agent.

"This bleeding needs to stop, I can't staunch both wounds, we need to get him out of here..." Ames was mumbling, he was becoming hopeless as he realized he just didn't have enough hands to get the job done.

Nurses and doctors began filing out into the hallway having been told the scene was safe again. Some ventured down towards the chaos, curious about the commotion coming from the agent's room. Mahoney was among them.

Deeks turned to face Kensi. "Kens, can you fit through that window?" He asked urgently.

The agent shook her head in bewilderment. "Are you kidding? No chance."

"What's going on?" Dr. Mahoney asked the crowd, wondering if he could help at all.

Sam answered. "The doc's in there with Callen, we can't get the damn door open though."

"Doc? Who is it?" Mahoney looked concerned, he knew every doctor in this hospital.

"Ames." Deeks replied.

Mahoney nodded. "Let me see if I can help." The surgeon moved towards the door and looked through, first taking in the scene. He saw two, presumably dead, bodies on the floor in a room that looked like a tornado had blown through it. In the middle of the floor he saw Ames' back and the bleeding out agent on his side whom he had operated on earlier that morning. _Holy crap._

"Ames, are you alright?" He swiftly asked.

The doctor glanced up and then back down at Callen. "Danny? Uh I need to get him into surgery, I don't have enough hands for this, I can't –"

"Yes you can. Just take a minute and think. Tell me about that neck laceration." Mahoney tried to redirect his understandably overwhelmed colleague who had one hand pressed against the agent's neck and the other on his thigh, blood coating the floor from both wounds regardless.

"Okay. Uh- the knife missed the carotid but nicked the external jugular. I need type specific and a suture kit."

"Alright, we're on it." The surgeon turned towards Deeks. "Also, Nini may be able to fit through there, she's a nurse." Mahoney pointed to the window before calling down the hall for what was needed.

"Hurry!" Ames called out as his anxiety continued to increase. Time was of the essence.

"Could any of your guys fit through that window?" Kensi asked the firemen on the floor.

"Heavens, are you all blind? Someone give me a damn boost." Hetty ordered over the commotion. A few individuals looked over and watched the short-statured woman walk up to the door. "Move aside." She stated to one of the firemen.

"Guys, I'm losing him!" The hallway heard Ames shout. The doctor watched helplessly as the knife wound started bleeding again between Callen's nearly lax fingers and his own.

Sam followed Hetty to the door, looked down and made eye contact with the determined woman. "Hetty, of course, go save him."

"That's the plan Mr. Hanna, now lift."

Sam put his hands around his superior's waist and easily heaved her up to the height of the door. Hetty tucked her knees up and placed one of her feet on the shards of glass at the base of the window. She turned her body to the side to slide into the narrow opening and as soon as she was released by Sam, she jumped down to the floor with ease.

The operations manager briefly took in the scene around the room but quickly focused in on her prized agent and knelt down next to the unaware doctor. She placed one of her hands on Callen's hip consolingly and made her presence aware. "How is he doing?"

The doctor's head snapped to the side but quickly became calmed. "Oh thank God, I need you to put pressure on his thigh, just go right over his hands." Ames exhaled and slowly peeled his hand away from Callen's limp ones and placed both his on the agent's neck to try and clot the wound there.

Hetty replaced the doctor's hands and clasped hers onto Callen's, she bore down knowing how much pressure it would take to start the clotting process.

Callen groaned in pain but did not push her hands away.

She looked down at her surrogate son. "Callen, are you alright?"

The pained agent opened his eyes at the sound of her voice. "Hetty…?"

 **TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

" _Callen, are you alright?"_

 _The pained agent opened his eyes at the sound of her voice. "Hetty…?"_

"Yes, I'm here, now answer the question."

G kept his eyes locked on Hetty's face but her focus was on the bleeding wound she was currently trying to clot on her proxy son's leg. She pushed harder and Callen let out another pained grunt.

"Hetty, everything's blurry, I feel like I'm going to pass out." The lead agent forced out before shutting his eyes briefly.

"Well, passing out is not an option so you must do everything you can to stay awake. Just listen to my words, my boy."

G tried to respond, but every time he attempted to inhale, it got harder and harder to expand his chest which was causing him to become worried. _Something's wrong…_

"Can you do that Mr. Callen?" Hetty repeated.

G shut his eyes painfully. "I can't breathe Hetty."

Ames twisted his head down towards Callen's face in alarm. "What? Why? What are you feeling?" He asked urgently.

G breathlessly answered the best he could. "I can't feel… my hands anymore. Can't move… Can't… inhale." The doctor looked puzzled and then suddenly horrified. He started looking around the floor.

"The syringe, find the syringe! The bottle, I dropped it by the door." 

"Mr. Ames, what are you talking about?" Hetty tried to get the doctor to focus, she was overly concerned about Callen's status and needed to know what had happened to him in order to help him.

Just then, a small figure appeared in the window dressed in scrubs. She was being held by Sam's strong hands and slipped through the door and onto the floor, with much less grace than Hetty had just demonstrated. The nurse looked over to the trio.

"How can I help?"

"Nini, find the prescription bottle on the floor over there, have someone in the lab tell me what the hell it is and then get me something to reverse it."

"Okay." The nurse responded and she searched the floor for the mystery bottle.

Callen mumbled something incomprehensible but his speech was slurring so bad Hetty couldn't understand him. She looked down to see her agent's lips turning blue.

"Just stay calm Mr. Callen, we're on it."

"Found it! Uh wait- this isn't in English."

"I know, send it to the lab."

"Wait, let me have a look." Hetty interrupted before the small nurse could hand off the bottle to Mahoney's awaiting hands.

Nini moved over towards the operation's manager and turned the label so she could see the writing.

"It says Zaleplon." Hetty announced.

Ames bowed his head. "Damn it, it's a nervous system depressant, a sleeping medication."

"How much did he get injected with?" Nini asked.

The ER doctor glanced over to Abram's still body. "Well, definitely not enough to cause immediate death, that's what a whole syringe did to him." Ames nodded his head over towards the Russian's pale and flaccid body.

The doctor looked back at the nurse. "Have someone get me a syringe and a vile of Flumazenil."

"How much?" Nini questioned.

"I don't know yet, just bring the whole vile." She nodded and moved to the door to talk with Mahoney. "Matt needs a vile of Flumazenil to reverse the benzo overdose. The agent was injected with an unknown amount and is in clear respiratory distress."

"On it." Mahoney responded and he ran down the hall.

Sam's eyes widened in fear. _Respiratory distress?_ His friend was in trouble.

Callen tried to follow the conversation and glanced over to look at Abram's body once the doctor started talking about the syringe. His breathing suddenly picked up and he swiftly shut his eyes and squeezed his hands tighter around his leg to distract his fears.

Hetty noticed her agent's change in demeanor and spoke quietly to him. "It's going to be alright Mr. Callen."

G knew he was in bad shape. He had felt the knife slice his throat in Vadim's last moments but he had no idea how badly he'd been cut. He figured it was serious if the doctor had ignored his thigh stab wound and gone directly to his neck, but luckily, he felt no pain where the doctor's hands were secured.

His leg on the other hand, was becoming increasingly unbearable to tolerate. Callen tried to move his bottom hand to relieve some of the pressure on the wound but Hetty's hold did not let up. He then tried stretching his fingers out and felt the sticky substance both crack where the blood had dried and drip where the blood was fresher. He sighed in dejection.

Hetty readjusted her grip and looked down at her agent's face. "Callen, stop. I can't let go."

"Hetty, how is he?" Sam's worried voice suddenly sounded from the window behind.

"Mr. Hanna, he's been better. Get that damn door open."

"Miss! Can you help us here?" One of the firemen called out to the nurse who was kneeling on the floor now monitoring Callen's breathing. She looked over at Ames.

"Yes, go. We need to get him out of here." Nini nodded and ran towards the door to await further instructions.

Callen continued trying to inhale, but the task was becoming less and less effective with every breath he took. His panic started to spike. "Hetty." He whispered dreadfully.

Ames cursed inwardly. "Alright, we need to sit him up, over by the wall here. Don't let go of his leg though." Hetty nodded her understanding and kept one hand clutched to Callen's leg sliding the other around the back of his shoulders. "Slide him up," Ames directed and the pair slowly heaved the taxed agent to a seated position against the wall. G groaned miserably as he was manhandled but as soon as he was secured to the wall, his head lolled down towards his chest.

"Okay. Head up, head up now, just try some deep breaths." The ER doctor tried to coach his fading patient while he switched his hold to cradle Callen's forehead up away from this chest. Callen was unable to assist the doctor in lifting his head as his muscles weren't responding to his commands anymore.

"What's happening to me…" Callen breathlessly asked. His eyes were closed due to the exhaustion that was overwhelming his every limb.

"All of your muscles are becoming paralyzed, including the ones that help you breathe… sitting up will help."

Ames looked down at the agent's neck and saw blood coating the latex material on his hand; the wound had bled through the gauze he had pressed against it. _Shit._

"Nini, I need new gauze pads, now." The nurse stopped what she was doing and ran over to the cabinet to the right side of the hospital bed. She pulled apart the packaging and handed the doctor a new stack of dressings which he swiftly slapped on top of the bandages already soaked through. She handed another stack to Hetty who did the same on Callen's leg.

"Just hold on." Ames repeated to the agent. "Hold on..."

Callen's eyes remained closed and his breathing rapidly shallowed out.

"Mr. Callen, eyes open, stay awake."

G moaned in response which worried Hetty. "Callen!" She yelled at his face but he didn't respond.

"Callen, you did not come this far just to fall asleep and not wake up, figure it out partner." Sam threatened. He was observing the scene eagerly by the window.

The doctor then watched in horror as his patient lost consciousness under his grasp. "No, no, Callen!" The team leader's body became lifeless and his head dipped to the side towards Ames' gloved hand. "Nini, check his pulse, his breathing. I need an intubation kit!" Ames yelled through the room, hoping someone outside heard him and would retrieve what he needed. A pair of nurses took off down the hall to retrieve the requested items.

Nini placed her fingers on the uninjured side of Callen's neck and waited. She shook her head in dismay. "I don't feel a pulse, he's stopped breathing doctor."

Deeks walked away from the door at hearing the nurse's words. He rested his face in his hands and paced down the hall away from the commotion. He couldn't listen to his friend die.

Kensi's stomach dropped and she looked up to the ceiling as her eyes filled with water. They had been so close. She'd never be the same after this.

"Lie him back down, quick." All three members helped a lifeless Callen onto his back again. Hetty looked at her agent's face, he looked dead.

"Switch." The doctor spoke to Nini and she replaced his hands on Callen's neck with her own so Ames was able to start compressions.

Mahoney suddenly rounded the corner. "Here! I got it!" He announced as he approached the broken window. "Ames I have the Flumazenil." He called into the room. A number of nurses and doctors were outside the room now, out of the way of the firemen but within ear shot, all ready to help their colleague if needed.

"Fill it." Ames responded breathlessly and Mahoney looked in to see his associate performing chest compressions on the obviously pulseless man on the floor. _Damn it. No._

Mahoney quickly looked down and stuck the needle into the top sucking out an unknown amount of medication, but not caring as time was of the essence.

"Ames, here." The surgeon called out. The ER doctor looked up from Callen's chest and then back down. "Once I finish this round." He stated and Mahoney waited.

"…29, 30." Ames finished and without thinking, he leapt up from his position towards the door as Nini gave two respiratory breaths. The physician snatched the syringe from his friend's hand and dove back over to kneel at Callen's side by the time the nurse completed her second breath.

Ames swung his arm up in the air and quickly plunged the syringe into the agent's chest causing his whole body to jerk at contact. He pushed half the medicine into his patient's chest and then pulled out the syringe, quickly resuming compressions.

"Come on, we were so close." Ames huffed angrily.

"Everyone back up! We're going to saw through it now." The hall heard one of the firemen announce.

Sam retreated and saw Deeks walking back towards the door from the middle of the hallway. He could tell the junior agent was disturbed, hell, Sam had no idea how he was keeping his composure right now.

One of the firemen activated the mechanical saw which roared sound through the surgical hallway. Once the machine hit the metal device, the sound was piercing and the crowd backed up farther, some covering their ears in discomfort. Sam lost sight of his friend from the sparks and he forced himself to take a breath. "Be alive, be alive, be alive." He mantraed quietly to himself.

Inside the room, Hetty had bent down as her back was the closest to the now sparking and moaning door behind, blocking any potential debris from hitting her downed agent. She never let up on the pressure against Callen's thigh though. Ames turned his head away from the door and continued his chest compressions, hoping the medication wasn't administered too late and that it would kick start the federal agent's heart soon.

The door continued to whine and screech, the sound of metal on metal causing everyone to cringe painfully on both sides of the door.

And then suddenly, the blades stopped and the door was jolted sideways as it swung crookedly on the still attached hinges. The device went crashing to the floor and one firemen finally confirmed what everyone was waiting for, "It's open!"

The opening was small but enough, and Sam pushed through the firemen to slide into the hospital room without pause. Mahoney followed, as did two of the nurses. Kensi and Deeks were close behind.

As soon as Sam stepped into the room, the gloom was evident amongst the three working on Callen. Ames continued his chest compressions and Nini had her ear close to Callen's mouth, listening for any signs of life there.

"Oh no…" Sam was completely distraught as he half kneeled next to Hetty. He looked down at the bleeding wound on his partner's leg and could see Hetty's hands shaking on top of it, likely from both fatigue and shock.

Kensi saw the unresponsive form of her senior agent on the floor, covered in blood and tucked her head into Deeks' chest. He was gone. She let out a quiet sob and shut her eyes.

"Come on, Callen!" Ames furiously shouted, completely wiped from his efforts, but he did not stop.

The medical personnel were standing watching their coworker, Dr. Ames, work on the federal agent on the floor with sadness. There was way too much blood on the ground for him to have survived, let alone bounce back from the medication he was injected with by the Russian. They knew it, and they knew Ames knew it too. Yet he did not stop his efforts.

"Hetty." Sam whimpered desperately, as if she could fix this.

The operations manager looked up with unshed tears in her eyes, she didn't know what to say. She had no words for what she was feeling in that moment. "Mr. Hanna-"

"Callen!" Ames made a fist with his hand and slammed it down onto Callen's chest in frustration.

G sucked in a gulp of air as his back arched off the ground violently. He fell back to the floor with a thud and his hand went directly to his chest. He was gasping for breath but he was very much awake as his eyes were wide open.

"Holy shit!" Deeks exclaimed, completely shocked.

"Oh my God G, I'm gonna kill you man!" Sam exhaled, he didn't even know he was holding his breath.

Callen continued to cough and his body started to shake, likely due to the shock of the medication, and the blood loss.

"Partner! You're freaking alive!" Sam clapped his hand onto his friend's uninjured shoulder and squeezed him hard. He literally couldn't believe it.

Callen's eyes shut again and his breathing picked up. He felt everything, but also nothing at all. It was pure adrenaline, but his body was battered and his awareness of that fact was becoming apparent quickly.

Sam looked worriedly down at G's face, not liking the distress it looked like he was in. "Say something." He urged.

Callen continued panting but opened his eyes to look at his partner. "Ow." He rasped out.

Sam couldn't help it, he started to laugh. Hetty even smiled.

"I literally have no medical explanation as to how you are alive right now." Ames was baffled.

"Alright, we need to get leads on him, his BP's probably nonexistent, hang 4 liters wide open of type specific, grab a gurney!" Mahoney ordered. Ames snapped out of his trance and looked around the floor first to estimate just about how much blood the agent had lost. He was not about to lose his patient again when he, by the grace of God, had just revived him for the _second_ time during his shift. That just didn't happen.

"Doc." Callen spoke in a raspy voice. The agent opened one of his shaking, blood coated hands out and Ames quickly clapped his palm around it.

G allowed a smirk to curl across his face and he shut his eyes. "M sorry, and thankyou." He whispered and Ames brought his head close to Callen's. "Happy I got to help, the whole thing was super exciting." The ER doctor sarcastically responded and he gripped the agent's hand harder. He couldn't believe the man was alive.

"I'm not doing chest compressions on you again though, got it?" He stated seriously and Callen nodded.

"Please don't, I think I might cry." G responded painfully, his smirk never leaving his face. He felt like he'd been run over.

Ames placed his hand on G's forearm. "Everything's going to be okay."

The medical team moved in with a backboard and the type specific blood which Nini quickly hooked up to Callen's R wrist and started to squeeze above his head. Various leads were stuck to the agent and together the team rolled him on his side and then onto the backboard, Hetty and Sam both assisting.

Once the team leader was secured and his vitals were announced, he was lifted and brought out of the destroyed room filled with haunting memories. Callen was relieved once he saw a different pattern on the ceiling. He was out of that room.

Ames had replaced Nini's spot holding the gauze pads against Callen's neck, he was going to see this surgery through and be sure the man survived before heading home. They had been through too much. He vowed, once the agent was on the mend, he'd take him out for a beer.

Sam followed close behind the medical team who began rolling Callen down the hall, likely in preparation for surgery. "I'm coming with." Sam called out.

None of the medical staff protested.

"Mother hen." G mumbled.

"I'm not leaving your side this time."

Sam waited for his partner to mock him but to his surprise, Callen did not come back with a witty remark. He closed his eyes and for the first time since being shot last night, he let himself relax. "Fine by me."

 **END**


End file.
